TLFB News

A NIGHT OF HOPE

Twin Lakes Food Bank Launches Bold Vision for the Future

On Wednesday, July 16th , something big happened in Folsom. In a room filled with community leaders, dedicated volunteers, passionate staff, and faithful board members, Twin Lakes Food Bank officially kicked off its most ambitious project yet—a $3.1 million capital campaign that will pave the way for a brand-new facility and expanded services for our neighbors in need across Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Granite Bay.

 This wasn’t just another evening gathering—it was a celebration of vision, unity, and purpose. Guests enjoyed delicious bites donated by beloved local restaurants like Riley’s on Sutter, Dos Coyotes, Sutter Street Taqueria, and Visconti’s Ristorante. But the real nourishment came from what was shared: stories of hope, community, and the bold steps Twin Lakes is taking to meet a rising need.

From Humble Roots to a Bold Future.

Since 1986, when a group of local church leaders founded the food bank, Twin Lakes has served as a lifeline to thousands. For the past 39 years, its home has been a renovated duplex on Montrose Drive. But as Folsom and surrounding areas have grown, so too has the need for support. In fact, the number of people served has nearly tripled—now reaching more than 34,000 annually. Folsom is growing 3x’s faster than the Sacramento metro area. With housing being built along the south of 50 and the multi-family units along East Bidwell St, that number is only expected to rise.

Why This Campaign Matters

“This campaign isn’t just about building a bigger space,” said Executive Director Lisa Tuter. “It’s about making sure that when someone in our community is hungry, we’re equipped to help—without ever having to turn them away.”
The vision? To raise $3.1 million to build a facility that doubles current square footage, increases storage capacity to over one million pounds, and extends distribution hours to better serve working families. The new space will allow Twin Lakes to serve up to 60,000 people annually—a number that reflects both the growing need and the food bank’s unwavering commitment to meet it.

A True Community Effort

It’s clear this vision isn’t just a dream—it’s already a shared mission. With support from 16 local churches, nearly 1,700 donors, over 150 businesses, and 12 nonprofit organizations, the foundation has already been laid. Now, with the public phase of the campaign officially launched, Twin Lakes is inviting the entire community to join in.
“We’re building more than a building,” Lisa added. “We’re building hope.”

Learn more or get involved by emailing  buildinghope@twinlakesfoodbank.org or clicking the button below. 

Let’s build hope—together.

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Back 2 School Extravaganza

Our annual backpack and school supply giveaway is coming up on Friday, August 1! At perhaps our favorite event of the year, hundreds of local under-resourced students receive food, family fun, and everything they need to start the school year with confidence.

Due to the generous donations of our church and community partners, we already have hundreds of backpacks for students to choose from, hygiene kits, back-to-school snack bags, professional haircuts, and more for our guests. We anticipate over 350 local students will register, and we cannot wait to love on them all.

This year, Chick-fil-A, Folsom Police, Folsom’s Hope, Ruby’s Bookstore, and Tricks Gymnastics are attending the event to help us make lasting memories by providing sandwiches, books, entertainment, ice cream, community connections, and more.

Sponsor a Student

While all of the backpacks, hygiene products, and entertainment is provided, we still need your help to purchase school supplies. Due to the generous donation of the campers at Lakeside’s Blitz Camp, we are close to halfway there, but 200 registered students still need a sponsor. A $25 donation will allow us to purchase grade-appropriate school supplies for one registered student. Click the button below to become a sponsor today!

Mark your calendars!

Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving is just around the corner—1 month away! From April 17 to May 1, our community of faithful volunteers, donors, board members, and community partners will come together to fight hunger in our community and raise $75,000 to continue our mission of providing the necessity of food with dignity.

Why not just donate now?

Big Day of Giving is one of our most important fundraisers of the year because the platform of the event allow small nonprofits like ours to receive additional grants, prizes, and matching funds. These funds can double and triple the impact of each donation.

In a season of financial uncertainty for both our vulnerable neighbors and the organizations that serve them, these events are key to our stability, longevity, and continued growth.

So mark your calendars, and prepare to make a difference in Folsom on May 1!

Angels on Wheels (AOW) volunteers Tricia and Alex spent their Wednesday morning checking grocery lists, loading their cars, and delivering nutritious food to three of our housebound guests facing food insecurity. In addition to essential groceries, they collected special treats for each guest: coffee for Susan, hot dogs for John, and a special cheesecake for Talia whose birthday was today. 

Each of our AOW guests experiences physical pain and conditions that limit or rob their mobility. But often more heartbreaking is the emotional toll that a loss of independence and increased isolation takes.  

When they reached Talia’s front door later that day, it opened before Tricia and Alex could knock: “My Angels!!!”

Talia greets them that same way each time they visit. One of over 20 AOW guests, she can hardly wait for her biweekly delivery of groceries tailored to her dietary restrictions. As they unloaded the groceries, they caught up on all the news—Talia updated Tricia on her grandchildren, and Alex asked about her recent crafting projects.

When she saw the cheesecake, Talia’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude: “Thank you for remembering me.”

Ministering through the delivery of nutritious food, thoughtful questions, long chats, hugs, and even cheesecake, Tricia, Alex, and others are truly Angels to our housebound guests.

Holiday Hardships

Food insecurity affects hundreds of families in Folsom each month, adding anxiety and hunger to the already overwhelming burdens of financial vulnerability, health crises, and uncertain housing.

While holidays can be celebrations of family, togetherness, and joy, they are often one more thing that overwhelms. Whether they hold memories, expectations, or extra mouths to feed with children out of school, holidays are times when our guests need more love and support than ever.

Each of our holiday food events seeks to fulfill our mission of sharing God’s love to our vulnerable community by providing food and support with dignity.

Help Us Provide Holiday Hams

This month, for our Easter holiday, each household who visits between March 25 and April 17 will be offered a holiday note, gift card, and one fully-cooked and frozen ham to enjoy with their family during the holidays.

With over 350 families expected to attend, we still need 160 hams!

Consider sponsoring a family’s holiday by donating a fully-cooked and frozen ham (4-10 pounds) or donating $20 to purchase a holiday ham.

To commit to donating a ham, please contact lindsayolson@twinlakesfoodbank.org by Tuesday, March 18.

To make a monetary donation toward a ham, click this link.

Thank you for your generosity! We cannot fulfill our mission without your support.

Mark your calendars!

Monday, March 3

5 PM-11 PM

Leatherby’s Family Creamery, Folsom

You don’t want to miss this!

Load your car with every friend, family member, neighbor, and whoever else you can find, and visit Leatherby’s on Monday, March 3, to support Twin Lakes Food Bank!

When you mention Twin Lakes at the register (which comes naturally for all of you dedicated partners ;), 20% of all dine in sales and call-in takeout sales directly benefit your hungry neighbors.

We look forward to seeing you there as we fight hunger in Folsom together!

What are POPs?

Pantry Outreach Programs (POP) allow us to partner with local organizations to provide food to more of our vulnerable neighbors.

Our POPs work with Folsom’s Hope, Powerhouse Ministries, Falcon Cares at Folsom Lake College, and more to reach our community.

Each of our POP partners offer support and resources in a variety of areas–academic, socio-emotional development, employment, counseling, and more. By helping provide the basic need of nutritious food, we can help these organizations empower students, families, and our vulnerable neighbors through wrap-around care.

What is their influence?

Folsom’s Hope provides a meal for each child enrolled in the STARS after-school program. By partnering with them to provide lunch foods, we can help ensure that between school lunches and STARS, each of these students receives 3 meals a day.

One of the outreaches of Falcon Cares at Folsom Lake College is a weekly food pantry for students, faculty, and the FLC Community. By providing nonperishable items in smaller portions, we can help the Falcon Cares team reach each hungry student with nutritious food in amounts that they can store and prepare.

Folsom Lake College students share:

“This is super helpful for lunches and snacks.”

“This service greatly helped me during this semester due to being in disability and having zero income. Seeing everyone there once a week warmed my heart and really gave me something to look forward too, in addition to having food. Thank you!”

Thank you to each of our POP partners for the work you do and the services and resources you provide to our neighbors in need.

What a privilege to support these outreaches by providing food each week!