Vandalism Costly For Mother Lode Food Bank
Gas tank that the vandals drilled into at The Resource Connection Food Bank in San Andrea
San Andreas, CA – Vandals struck for a second time at The Resource Connection Food Bank in San Andreas resulting in costly repairs that will keep much need food off the shelves.
Unable to pinpoint exactly what day several holes were drilled into the gas tank of a van, Food Bank Manager Tina Mather believes it was sometime within the past week. She is hoping surveillance cameras, which she has turned over to Calaveras County Sheriff’s Detectives, will have captured the culprits in the act and lead to their arrest. Mather has this message for the vandals, “It’s disgraceful. Why would you want to do this to your community?” With her voice cracking, she adds, “Shame on you. It’s very disheartening.”
In the past year and a half, another van was found with eight punctures to its gas tank and the food bank offices were broken into as well. Mather did not want to reveal exactly what was taken, only saying it was “of significant value.” The latest vandalism will cost $1070 in repairs to the van, a setback she sums up this way, “To give some idea of the impact that the repair to this van is going to have. What it’s going to cost equates to over $10,000 in food because every $10 in funds that we get, I can buy $100 dollars in food.”
Noting that the food bank supplements the food needs of between 650 and 750 families a month while operating on a budget “with little to no wiggle room” and a small staff, a frustrated Mather, states, “In my mind, it is an act of cruelty. I mean how can you take food away from people who can’t afford to buy food in the first place and that’s what they’re doing when they are vandalizing our equipment so that we have to take money from elsewhere to pay for the repairs.”
With turning people away “not an option,” according to Mather, who insists, “We’re just going to have to take the hit and make it work.” Which will mean giving out less food to make up for the funding deficit.
Anyone wishing to donate to the food bank can do so online by clicking here and making sure to specify where the money should go or by mailing a check to P.O. Box 1656, San Andreas, 95249.
Another way the public can help is by calling the sheriff’s office with any tips or information related to the vandals.
