Twentynine Palms City Council approves appliance purchases for food storage

In an effort to comply with a state law and expand food donations for those in need, the Twentynine Palms City Council swiftly approved the application of grant funds at last night’s meeting. The city will utilize a $73K grant from CalRecycle to purchase five commercial freezers, three commercial refrigerators and six shelving units to safely store food donations. 

Robin Schlosser, of Reach Out Morongo Basin, addressed the council: “Last year, I will say we probably got about 9,000 pounds of surplus food from the school district. We get pick-up pizzas from local restaurants several times a week. The refrigeration is really gonna help us. We are also in collaboration with the 29 Palms Community Food Pantry and Find Food Bank do a monthly distribution of 300 boxes, along with produce and cheese, adds up to an average of about 14,000 pounds of food a month we’re distributing to needy seniors so these refrigeration units and these freezer units are going to be absolutely lifesaving for us to be able to store items.”

A decade ago, the state legislature passed SB 1383 mandating all state municipalities reduce organic waste landfill disposal by 75% and edible food waste by 20%. The new equipment will enable three local food pantries – The Hope Project 29 Palms, 29 Palms Community Food Pantry, and Reach Out Morongo Basin, to expand their offerings significantly. 

Lori Cosgriff of the 29 Palms Community Food Pantry also expressed gratitude for the new appliances. “The important part is what we have to say ‘no’ to. The school district will call and they’ll say ‘We have 3,000 pounds worth of frozen something’ and I only have 40 cubic feet of freezer space and so we have to say ‘Well, we can take 40 boxes. That’s it.’ So, you know, they are throwing a lot away that we could take. So these refrigerators and freezers will definitely increase what we are able to say ‘yes’ to from the organizations that we are taking recovered food from and it will directly benefit the people that we are serving.” 

During public comments, several residents again registered their opposition to the proposed solar farm and also to the installation of FLOCK cameras city-wide. They are asking that the council add the FLOCK issue as a future agenda item for a deeper public discussion. 

Click here to view a video of the meeting.