NOAH to Decide on New Food Pantry Location

Organizers for local food pantry Neighbors Organized Against Hunger are , after school district officials announced last month that they need the space at Mountain Shadows Education Center for students next year.

Volunteers said the community has responded with an outpouring of support for NOAH — both the cities of Rohnert Park and Cotati have offered some kind of help, as well as churches, area nonprofits and private property owners. 

According to Carl Leivo, who is helping find a new location, volunteers are touring possible new sites this week. The board of directors is meeting April 3 to consider options and make a final decision.

"The search for a new food pantry site creates new opportunities for NOAH," Leivo said. "This is an exciting time to join NOAH's efforts to provide food to the familes most in need in Rohnert Park, Cotati and Penngrove."

NOAH has seen a procession of moves over the last few years. A rat infestation in 2010 rendered the former () Southwest Fire Station where the nonprofit was handing out food from, uninhabitable. At that time, volunteers were handing out food to an average of 2,500 people a month.

Now, on average, NOAH feeds between 400 and 500 families here, or roughly 1,000 people a week, said Board President Gail Cafferata. Residents of Rohnert Park, Cotati or Penngrove in need of a little help are offered a variety of produce and other goods, which every week, line the sterile metal shelves inside an old science lab at Mountain Shadows.

NOAH fundraises to purchase foodstuffs, from apples to potatoes and citrus, to canned goods such as tuna and tomato sauce. They're also donated by the community and often by the Santa Rosa-based Redwood Empire Food Bank.

If individuals are interested in serving NOAH as a member of its Board of Directors or as a Food Pantry Coordinator, contact the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County at 707-573-3399.