How Rembrandt Foods is Helping Fight Food Insecurity

Twin Lakes Food Bank in Folsom, California depends on our many volunteers and limited staff. A shining example is Elizabeth Martin, a stay-at-home mother of two and former paralegal, who was looking for ways to serve her community when she found Twin Lakes Food Bank in 2019. She initially became a registration volunteer, the first face to greet our food insecure families, and quickly won the affection of guests with her cheerful and encouraging presence. In December 2023, Elizabeth joined the staff as Operations Manager, using her business experience and passion for the mission to ensure that hungry neighbors get access to nutritious food when they come to the food bank.

The challenges to our neighbors over the last few years has been telling. In the past year alone, Twin Lakes Food Bank experienced a 30% increase in need for food due to the devastating effects of inflation, with over 3,000 individuals coming through every month. Yet, our ability to source the food that we need to fulfill our mission has not kept up, so we are constantly looking for new sources. “The donations from our food donation partners have not changed, yet the demand continues to increase, making it difficult to provide the groceries that our guests need. It is a challenging time to be working in the food banking industry, to say the least,” shares Elizabeth. Most of our food insecure guests are working but have more month than money and have to decide whether to pay rent, medical bills, gas, or food. One of Elizabeth’s favorite guests, Susan, shared recently, “The amount of food that I get at Twin Lakes would easily cost me $300 in the grocery store, so this frees up my limited income to be able to pay rent. I don’t know what I would do without it.”

Twin Lakes Food Bank was founded in 1986 and serves the communities of Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Granite Bay in the greater Sacramento, California area.

Click here for information about Twin Lakes Food Bank or contact Mark Smith, with Rembrandt Foods, at 213-216-7220.