Central California Alliance to Donate $157k to Second Harvest

The Central California Alliance for Health, the Medi-Cal managed health care plan for nearly one in four Santa Cruz County residents, will donate $157,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County through its newly-established COVID-19 Response Fund.

“Our members are among the most vulnerable in our communities and are the most likely to go hungry as a result of this pandemic,” said Alliance CEO Stephanie Sonnenshine. “The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County serves a critical role in addressing our members’ food insecurity, a key factor in determining overall health. The food banks are challenged to meet the growing needs caused by this pandemic as more and more people are now struggling to feed their families. The Alliance’s COVID-19 Response Fund will provide critical support to our community partners serving Alliance members. We are all in this together.”

The Alliance Board of Directors approved an allocation of $1 million to establish the COVID-19 Response Fund as part of its Medi-Cal Capacity Grant Program; 60 percent of the funding dollars will be disbursed to the local food banks.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County reports food needs have doubled in the wake of the March 16 “shelter in place” order, which closed many nonessential businesses and left many people out of work.

“In the first few weeks, our Community Food Hotline received thousands of calls, and our drive- through distributions were able to provide food to 3,000 families in a single day, more than doubling our typical week’s distribution,” said Second Harvest Executive Director Willy Elliott-McCrea.

The remaining 40 percent of the COVID-19 Response fund monies will be awarded to community-based organizations working to meet the evolving needs of Alliance, such as meal delivery services, access to diapers, or for personal protective equipment for food and homeless service providers. Alliance staff will monitor how COVID-19 impacts local communities to assess the best way to respond.

The Medi-Cal Capacity Grant Program was established in 2015 following the Affordable Care Act’s implementation the previous year, which placed sudden growth demands on the health care delivery system. The program seeks to improve the availability, quality and access to health care and supportive services for 320,000 members in Santa Cruz, Monterey and Merced counties.

Recognizing the critical impact of food insecurity on member health, including poor health outcomes and reduced quality of life, the program addressed food insecurity in 2018 with the “Post-Discharge Meal Delivery Pilot” and “Partners for Healthy Food Access.”

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Established in 1996, Central California Alliance for Health is an award-winning managed care health plan focused on prevention, early detection and effective treatment. For information, visit www.ccah-alliance.org.