Living Waters Assembly of God Church delivering food boxes to the ‘Last Mile of Need’–directly to families who need it the most.

On Thursday, May 21, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced CityServe and its partners as a regional “Community of Faith and Opportunity” for CityServe headquarters in Bakersfield, CA. The designation provides us with custom-tailored technical support and guided access to additional resources that would foster hope and opportunity, wealth creation, and asset building.

“We are honored to facilitate the ‘Last Mile of Need’ with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program,” said Karl Hargestam, CityServe Executive Director. “Over 45,000 food boxes are being distributed weekly throughout 14 regions in Southern California and Kern County is one of them. Our local churches are an incredible network of caring people who want to help people.”

The designation expresses USDA’s belief in our passion and ability to engage churches for a positive impact on families. The support that comes with this designation reinforces our efforts in Bakersfield and strengthens our capabilities to improve and enrich the community through a network of local churches.

“In the last 2 weeks we have been able to touch thousands of households through local churches who are located in the most food-insecure neighborhoods in the county,” said Robin Robinson CityServe Kern County, Community Development and Church Engagement. “In the face of the crisis, we plan to continue to be a resource so our community will not just bounce back, but it will once again flourish.”

Most recently, we have had the privilege to help create the Faith-Based Community for Farmers to Families, an expansive national network of organizations and churches mobilized to distribute USDA Farmers to Families food boxes of produce and poultry to families impacted by the pandemic crisis. CityServe Bakersfield is currently receiving thousands of boxes each week and distributing them to local churches.