SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — At 7 a.m. on a Wednesday morning at the Food Bank of El Dorado County in Cameron Park, a semi truck driver is preparing to haul a load trailer to South Lake Tahoe.

Volunteers work hard to load 16 pallets of food earmarked for multiple partner charities in the Tahoe area that diligently work to provide emergency food assistance to neighbors that struggle to make ends meet.

After figuring out if the truck will need chains for this trip and if the road is even open, up the hill it goes.

The first stop at 9 a.m. is the South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center. Director Bill Martinez is excited about how many of their neighbors will benefit from the support of the Food Bank.

The second stop is Saint Teresa’s Bread and Broth. Roberta Strachan and several volunteers meet the truck and receive 10 pallets of food to help feed Tahoe’s most at-risk.

And then it’s a quick drive across Lake Tahoe Boulevard to Live Violence Free with enough food to stock their small food pantry for those that need it most.

Finally, the truck heads to Alpine County where it will meet Chairman Jim Irvin to support tribal members and the community with emergency food assistance.

The bottom line is that 10 tons of food assistance equaling 20,000 pounds with a value of around $39,000 is delivered to a mountain community during COVID, an area that really needs the help.

The Food Bank of El Dorado County’s Emergency Food Assistance Network has collaboratively served as a safety net to thousands of at-risk neighbors in the county for over 20 years.

We are here for our community. Join in with us, there are several ways to get help and also give help.

For more information, visit http://www.foodbankedc.org.

Submitted by the Food Bank of El Dorado County.