Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1367422
Orange County Community Resilience Fund Evaluation Report 19 were also less likely to have reserves to draw on, have smaller reserves relative to their budget, and are more likely to have used those reserves to fill budget deficits. And as noted earlier, smaller organizations were less likely to have cut staff in the short term, possibly meaning those organizations may be forced to cut core staff in the face of budget crunches. All of these factors combined indicate that many small organizations are soon facing very difficult challenges, and in some cases, existential threats. To dig deeper into how the pandemic has affected individual sub-sectors, interviewers were conducted with leaders of several sub-sectors. Sub-sectors were chosen based on initial findings from the applications and landscape scan. Analysis of the quantitative data from the survey was also performed, but in many cases, the sample sizes for sub-sectors were small, which limited the extent of the findings. Interviews were conducted with the following • Sandy Avzaradel, Early Childhood OC – Early Childhood Care and Education • Mark Lowry, OC Food Bank – Food and Emergency Needs • Georgina Maldonado, Community Health Initiative of Orange County – Health Care Services and Access • Sarah Middleton – Mission Up/Charitable Ventures – Census • Vattana Peong and Sophia Cheong, The Cambodian Family – Immigrants and People of Color • Maricela Rios-Faust, Human Options—Domestic Violence • Allyson Sonenshine, OC Women's Health Project – Women's Rights and Health In addition, deeper environmental scans were performed on three sub-sectors – seniors, arts and culture, and homeless – to determine their unique challenges. Food Banks The impact of COVID-19 has been "extreme" according to the Executive Director of the OC Food Bank, Mark Lowry. As the need for food exploded, many distribution centers shut down and others stepped up and grew from "modest service providers just a few months ago to major food distribution providers today" becoming "heroes" or "superstars" of the crisis; as noted earlier, food banks saw a 4 to 40 times increase in their initial demand. Those that found themselves having to close predominantly did so do the vulnerability of the volunteers, staff, or target population. Food distribution models changed quickly to adapt to physical distancing, with in-person distribution transitioning to packaged boxes of food, following ample physical distancing, other safety precautions, and contingency plans for containment should someone become ill. With the changes, there were learning hurdles, but they were overcome. Collaboration and coordination improved from where it was before COVID. The organizations that stepped up as new food distributors began working with the main food banks in new, different, and bolder ways. The county's two food banks, OC Food Bank and Second Harvest, coordinated the receipt and distribution of food from the limited-term USAA program to ensure distribution and efficiency. Although there was less time than usual for usual advocacy for policy and systems issues, the food banks did stay involved as much as possible. For example, on the local level, the county's two food banks applied together for $3M of pooled funding from the county, and they worked to extend the ability of amazon to deliver boxes of food. State and national advocacy groups had several wins that led to expanded CalFresh benefits, pandemic EBT cards, and more. The biggest challenge going forward is sustaining the necessary resources to meet the expanded need. According to Lowry, the initial response from the philanthropic community "was bold and generous". Further, the "message (about need) was clear, and heard, and understood", and there was nightly news