“Hungry can look like you and me,” says Laurie Rinker, Regional Philanthropy Officer at Feeding the Foothills (FTF), an organization dedicated to keeping area residents fed. FTF’s mission: to nourish families experiencing food insecurity, educate foothills communities about hunger, and advocate for long-term hunger-relief solutions. FTF facilitates food collection and distribution within the communities it serves, working with farms, grocery stores, government programs, and more than 60 hunger-relief partners to get food to people who need it. “It means so much to me that I can live and work in a community like El Dorado Hills, where people are thoughtful and supportive of their less fortunate and hungry neighbors,” says Rinker.
Here, she shares more about Feeding the Foothills and its important work in El Dorado County and beyond.
What’s the history behind Feeding the Foothills?
In 1970, a small effort called Community Resources Council opened in Roseville to coordinate food and basic resources for struggling families. That grew into Placer Food Bank (PFB). In 1990, PFB became a member of the Feeding America network, serving El Dorado, Placer, and Nevada counties as the region's primary hunger-relief hub. We moved into our current Roseville facility in 2009 and ultimately grew it to about 77,000 square feet to keep up with community need. In 2024, we reintroduced ourselves as Feeding the Foothills, which reflects who we have long been in practice: a regional food bank that serves and stands with communities throughout the Sierra foothills.
How does Feeding the Foothills distribute food in the community?
We distribute food through our direct-service programs and our network of hunger-relief partners. In El Dorado County, this includes PantryToGo mobile distributions in Cameron Park, Placerville, Pollock Pines, and Georgetown—free, drive-through distributions where households receive fresh produce, pantry staples, baked goods, Starbucks prepared items, and household essentials. Through our Student Snack Program, we provide nonperishable items and snack packs to Title I schools. Also, we distribute through senior programs and partner pantries and faith-based organizations that receive truckloads of food from us and operate weekly or monthly distributions in their neighborhoods.
Can you quantify Feeding the Foothills’ impact in El Dorado County?
In El Dorado County, we estimate approximately 10% of our neighbors are food insecure, which includes more than 2,600 children; last year, we served 13,500 neighbors each month or 162,000 individuals. Across El Dorado, Placer, and Nevada counties, more than 55,000 neighbors, including more than 13,000 children, are food insecure. Last year, FTF distributed about 11 million pounds of food and approximately 9 million meals for neighbors who otherwise may not know where their next meal is coming from.
What sets Feeding the Foothills apart from other hunger-relief organizations?
We are a Feeding America food bank, which connects us to a national network and enables large-scale food sourcing and disaster response. We operate as the central hub for local partner agencies, so one gift or pallet of food can ripple out through churches, senior programs, youth organizations, and independent pantries. We are local, with staff, volunteers, and agency partners serving our own communities. We focus not only on emergency food, but also on longer-term solutions, including CalFresh (SNAP) outreach, nutrition education, and advocacy for policies that reduce hunger.
What are some of the biggest challenges the organization faces?
Food, fuel, and warehousing are all more expensive. Inflation, housing costs, natural disasters, and federal benefit disruptions continue to drive demand for food assistance. Awareness gaps mean people are surprised to learn how many of their neighbors “quietly” rely on food banks or CalFresh. Others may not know that they themselves qualify for help.
Are there any local donors or partners you’d like to recognize?
We are deeply grateful for all the generosity that flows out of El Dorado Hills. A few examples of local county sponsors and groups: Bayside Church El Dorado Hills, Caliber Collision, Chris Wolf Real Estate Group, Doug Veerkamp - General Engineering, El Dorado Community Foundation/Peek Family Fund, El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado Hills CSD, El Dorado Hills Town Center, Kiwanis of Placerville, Marshall Hospital, Mohanna Development Co., Nugget Markets, Old Town Grill, Pioneer Community Energy, Raley’s Food for Families, Safeway, Serrano Women’s Book Club, and Starbucks.
Finally, can you share a success story?
During a recent PantryToGo distribution near El Dorado Hills, a mom had driven over from her job. Her family had always “gotten by” until the recent SNAP delay, and a sudden car repair hit the same month. She tried to cut back on groceries, and it just wasn't enough. She shared that sitting in the distribution line was hard. She was embarrassed and worried about who might see her. By the time she left—with fresh produce, protein, and staples in her trunk—she said, “I can breathe a little again. This means my kids can eat this week.” Stories like hers are not rare. They are daily reminders that one car in a distribution line is not just a number. It is a family trying to stay afloat, and our community showing up to help them.
Three Ways to Help
1. Your gift has extraordinary impact.One $1 donation provides food for six meals because of FTF’s national, regional, and local retail partnerships, and partnerships with California farmers. Monetary gifts allow FTF to purchase healthy food in bulk, keep trucks on the road, and respond quickly to food-need crises. feedingthefoothills.org/lets-solve-hunger-together
2. Volunteers are truly the heartbeat of FTF. Each year, thousands of volunteers contribute tens of thousands of hours to keep our operations moving. Individuals, families, and corporate teams can help sort and pack food at the warehouse, support mobile distributions like PantryToGo, or lend professional skills. feedingthefoothills.galaxydigital.com
3. Talk about hunger in our region, share Feeding the Foothills’ Facebook and Instagram posts, and invite friends or colleagues to give or volunteer.