Rancho Cordova Food Locker’s new Community Hub is reaching for higher ambitions around help and dignity    

Political and nonprofit leaders gather to announce the new Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub in January. Photograph by Casey Rafter

By Casey Rafter

Crumbling pieces of concrete and stucco fell to the ground as former state assemblyman Ken Cooley finished his swing. The next person to wield the sledgehammer was Rancho Cordova Mayor Siri Pulipati. The blows were symbolic – the start of renovation on a sizable project that’s meant to “Smash Out Hunger.”

The announcement was made at a Jan. 10 press conference at ground-zero for the effort.

At the gathering, Carrie Johnson, Executive Director for Rancho Cordova Food Locker, hosted a group of local dignitaries, business developers and officials that included restaurateur Patrick Mulvaney, Fifth District Supervisor Pat Hume, Congressman Ami Bera, food visionary Brad Cecchi and Deacon Walter Little, who co-founded the Food Locker in 1987.

With new construction planned on a half-acre site on Don Juan Road, this former home to The Music Connection will now house the cutting-edge Community Food Hub. The plans for the project promise a dramatic overhaul to the surrounding landscape and a building that offers a plethora of resources, set to open late 2025.

Not only will the Community Food Hub offer a grocery pantry, there will be a community meeting space, nutritional education, bathrooms and ample storage for the food pantry that includes walk-in refrigeration and freezer. Johnson said that members of the community will also have access to housing assistance, a service that has been offered at the Rancho Cordova Food Locker’s current site of operation at Cordova Neighborhood Church on Coloma Road.

“This is the first facility of its kind in our region,” Johnson explained. “We have folks from the Rancho Cordova Homeless Navigators on our site every week and they sit outside, which is really hard. We’ll be able to expand that here, so people can get access to resources. We see challenges and we come together as one to face those challenges.”

Johnson noted that the food hub is modeled after the Ballard Food Bank in Seattle. That facility has been in operation for two years with considerable impact on the nearby community. She added that, while designing and planning the Community Food Hub, she’s been on the phone with the Seattle food bank every week to learn from their success.

“It’s not the standard, and I want to make this the standard,” Johnson mentioned. “The problem is, with people that are struggling, they have to go to so many places to get their services. We want to be one stop where — we’re not going to do all the work, but we’re going to have connections with those people. When things are hard, you don’t want to make it harder for people.”

Stakeholders from around Ranch Cordova gather with the new Community Food Hub will be located. Photograph by Casey Rafter

For more than three decades, the Rancho Cordova Food Locker has been a crucial resource for families in need, adapting to meet growing demand. During its earliest operations, the food locker served approximately 1,500 people per-month. Johnson said that in its current capacity, the Rancho Cordova Food Locker serves about 4,800 families or 15,000 people every month.

The new facility will significantly expand outreach, allowing the Food Locker to serve even more families. Johnson described it as a complete transformation from its current model.

“The goal of this project is regular access on a daily basis,” Johnson asserted. “We’re the third largest distributor in the county for food. South Sac, Elk Grove and River City food banks — along with us — serve a majority of the folks throughout the county. Most places are only open once or twice a month on a Saturday morning for two hours.”

Local businesses and volunteers have also stepped up to support the initiative, recognizing that food insecurity is a widespread issue affecting people across different economic backgrounds. During the January press event, Congressman Bera described the importance of developing strong connections between officials, resource providers and anyone who might access the Rancho Cordova Food Locker.

Bera also drew parallels between the resources needed for victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires in Southern California and those required to provide life-affirming services to Sacramento-area residents in need.

“It doesn’t matter how affluent you are, we’re all one step away from vulnerability,” Bera reflected. “Tomorrow, we may be vulnerable.”

Michelin-starred chef Brad Cecchi of Canon restaurant spoke about the importance of people being granted an opportunity to better their community or to better their means in a “dignity driven way.” Canon and the Food Locker are partners in the Family Meal project, which works with local independent restaurants and vendors to provide portioned meal kits for Sacramento families.

“We have a lot of hungry people out there, but those who identify as hungry have to do so in sacrifice of some of their dignity, oftentimes,” Cecchi observed. “What this [development] affords this community is the idea that they can come into a place knowing that they need help and get it.”

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