Sacramento, California - Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia honored the Imperial Valley Food Bank at the Nonprofit of the Year event in Sacramento.   Imperial Valley Food Bank was selected by Assemblymember Garcia for its exceptional work fighting hunger in the 56th Assembly District. The Imperial Valley Food Bank will join other nonprofit leaders from across the state being honored at this inaugural event.

“It’s great to recognize such an amazing organization that does gods work,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. “We are also recognizing all of the partners, like the agricultural community in Imperial County that has been very supportive of feeding the hungry in our county.”

The Imperial Valley Food Bank has served the community for 25 years. They work to gather, store, and distribute millions of pounds of donated food to hungry people in Imperial County. Imperial Valley Food Bank partners with over 100 other agencies, churches, shelters, schools and soup kitchens. They have successfully been operating Mobile Food Pantries to areas of the county without food distribution organizations. Imperial Valley Food Bank is devoted to feeding the hungry in every corner of Imperial County.

Sara Griffen, Executive Director of the food bank visited the Assembly Floor before attending a luncheon at Sacramento’s Sheraton Grand Hotel.  The keynote address was provided by Sacramento Mayor-Elect Darrell Steinberg, Assemblymember Richard Gordon and Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits).

“Nonprofit organizations are vitally important to the economy and well-being of California. But too often nonprofits are ‘hidden in plain sight.’ We are thrilled that the State Assembly has passed a resolution putting the spotlight on nonprofits as an economic power that uses that power for the common good. We congratulate all of the award recipients on being honored for the great work they do every day to make California a better place,” said Jan Masaoka, CEO of California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), a statewide alliance of over 10,000 organizations, representing and promoting California’s growing nonprofit sector and working to bring the full power of nonprofits to strengthening communities.

California Nonprofits Day was formally proclaimed by the State Legislature through passage of ACR 192, authored by Assemblyman Richard Gordon (D-Menlo Park).