This holiday season, all of us at the Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. want to wish you and your loved ones a time of peace, healing, and joy.

Whether natural disaster, health crisis, or an underperforming economy, Butte CAA has found ways to assist our most vulnerable community members. We want to express appreciation to all the Board, Staff, and Volunteers who make our efforts possible each day. Butte CAA remains committed to our communities as we have since 1967. 

Even during this unusual year of 2021, we were able to accomplish much through our efforts. 

VITA

Our Volunteers in Tax Assistance program pivoted in light of COVID-19 from a drop-in program to an appointment only. Even with the change, we were still able to assist 542 households with their tax returns. This saved approximately $162,600 to low-income residents in preparation fees and amounted to $562,841 in tax returns.

Since the majority of these funds are spent in our locality, they benefit our local economy to the tune of $1.5 million, based on a conservative 3:1 multiplier effect. One dollar to the wallet of someone who got their tax return turns into grocery shopping which supports the employee at the grocery stores wages that they use to pay their rent.

Energy

Our Energy and Environmental Services Program improved the safety and energy efficiency of 319 homes through our home weatherization program. We also delivered 347 batteries to Butte County residents with medical needs to ensure their medical devices could be powered during the Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

Our Utility Assistance Program provided $1,160,473 of energy bill assistance to 1,902 households. That program also helped 469 families with $413,552 worth of wood and propane assistance to heat their homes.

Food Bank

Our North State Food Bank distributed nearly 2 million pounds of food this year – the most in any single year of our operation. We acquired 3 new delivery vehicles that replaced our aging fleet. We had them wrapped and they look great. Give us a wave when you see us out on the road!

Esplanade House

Our Esplanade House continued to be impacted by the ongoing pandemic, but we still graduated 31 formerly homeless families from our Transitional Housing program. Each of those families moved out to safe and secure housing in the community. We conducted 312 group classes and provided 639 Case Management sessions.

We celebrated the 30th Anniversary of our Esplanade House this year. Through the last few months we have reflected upon the past and looked ahead for what is in store for this program and are hopeful for its future. 

530 Food Rescue Coalition

We partnered with the Center for Healthy Communities to form the 530 Food Rescue Coalition. This program will use technology to redirect perfectly good food away from going to the landfill and supply it to food pantries and congregate feeding sites around the county.

Our 530 Food Rescue app just launched on December 21 and is available in the Apple Store and Google Playstore. Please check it out and consider being a volunteer!

We wish you all a Happy New Year and can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in 2022!

Together in Service,
The Board, Staff and Volunteers of CAA

 

If you would like to end this year on a generous note and help us continue our work, please consider donating via the link below. 

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In the last few years, Butte County has been through traumatic events as a community. The impacts of natural disasters and a global pandemic have created greater strain on our community and the unhoused population and increased the price of food for everyone. Sadly, the children and families of the North State have been affected the most.

Homelessness and food insecurity has a greater impact for families than individuals. While a single person has only themselves to care for, parents have dependents relying on them for food and shelter. This is an increase in financial need and children are more vulnerable to the effects of unstable housing. When the complication of addiction is in the mix, it can lead to a generational cycle of poverty in our area.

Hear from Chief Programs Officer, Tim Hawkins, on how our Esplanade House and our programs help families heal, learn how to thrive, and break the cycle of generational poverty.

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Getting your online holiday shopping done early this year is going to be crucial with the expected shipping delays. The sooner you start shopping online this year, the sooner you can begin your holiday charitable giving. Plus, it's at no extra cost to you and you'll still be able to buy exactly what you want. 

By shopping on AmazonSmile you can donate to a good cause while doing your normal or holiday shopping, just by choosing the Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. as your charity. When you make a purchase, Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of what you’ve spent and donates it to Butte CAA. How cool that you can donate without spending any extra money!

We know that budgets are tight for a lot of us right now and it may seem like you have a hard choice to make between giving to charity or getting gifts for those you care about. Here is a way to do both at the same time. 

By following the instructions below you can shop via your browser or the app on your phone.

Here's how to Sign Up for AmazonSmile:

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The cost of groceries has finally increased as many predicted at the turn of the pandemic, and we are now seeing the effect on families’ budgets and in their kitchens. The global food supply chain all the way to our local grocery stores are affected.

The California drought is also to blame for the increase in prices. Water-intense crops, like tree nuts, have been particularly impacted. In fact, some farmers have started taking out their almond trees. Prices of hay and other feed sources may increase which will in turn affect the prices of dairy and other animal-based products.

In a recent article, Bloomberg catalogued how different countries, including the US, are seeing increases in their food costs.

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Food insecurity in our area is one of our top concerns right next to homelessness. The pandemic brought both these issues to the forefront of our societal lens when people lost their jobs and became at risk for both hunger and losing their homes.

It’s because of this that we used our resources and joined with other organizations to help our community in more focused ways since the Camp Fire. Thanks to our local legislators, Senator Jim Nielsen and Assemblyman James Gallagher, we received new State funding that helped bolster our food distribution efforts. We also promoted news of rent relief programs to keep people in their homes while experiencing financial hardship.  We even had brave volunteers answer the call to help make our VITA services happen while abiding by COVID-19 guidelines.

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We get to have a summer outside of our homes this year! We want you to enjoy all that the North State has to offer this time of year and we want to help you do it without having to spend too much money.

Move Your Body!

Get outside and move your body! Going for a walk costs nothing and this simple activity has many health benefits when done regularly. You can plan morning or evening walks with friends and explore all the different trails in your local area and throughout your city. Riding bikes, roller blading, and skateboarding are also great options for you to get outside without spending money, especially with Chico's skate park and extensive bike paths.

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Tailgate season has returned! This is one of the more unique programs that the Community Action Agency runs.

Tailgate Food Giveaway conducts seasonal produce giveaways in 13 different cities throughout the counties we serve.

We are so happy this program is returning at full speed. We are still taking safety precautions so for the time being we expect the events to stay in the drive through format. 

We are hoping the events will still include other non-profit agency booths to provide education and assistance programs related to the produce, such as Cal Fresh, Public Health and Nutrition Education.

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We are excited about the launch of our latest program in combating hunger and food waste in Butte County, the 530 Food Rescue Coalition!  It is community action at its best and we want to share it with you.

This effort is a partnership that the Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. has created with the Center for Healthy Communities. 

In an interview with KZFR Radio, Center for Healthy Communities' Health Education Specialist, Sheila McQuaid, talked about how the project came to be, what the focus of the 530 Food Rescue Coalition (530 FRC) will be, and what that means for our community. 

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February is the month of hearts. We see hearts everywhere. We celebrate those we love with flowers, balloons and cards with hearts. We are focused on the gift of those we care for and love in our lives. What if there was a way to share that love beyond our friends and family to the entire community?

Here at Community Action Agency’s North State Food Bank, we received a donation that warmed our hearts and got us thinking a bit. The donation letter said the following:

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Northern California has shown its resiliency repeatedly since 2018. We don’t need to tell you all that we’ve experienced, but we do want to tell you about the good that’s happened in our community.

By coming together, we were able to make some great things happen. Our mission at Butte CAA is to lift others up and out of poverty, but everyone in our community plays a part as well through volunteering, donating, and spreading the word about our programs. Let’s look at some of those achievements together.

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