Circle Bank Supports Redwood Empire Food Bank

Novato-based  has announced that the Redwood Empire Food Bank, which serves Sonoma County and the North Bay, will be the beneficiary of its quarterly charity day program, according to a release from the bank. 

“Even as our local economy slowly improves, there remains a significant need to provide food and nutrition services to a large segment of the population,” Kim Kaselionis, Chairman/CEO of Circle Bank, said in the release.  “The goal of the Food Bank of ‘Ending Hunger in our Community’ is one that we wholeheartedly support.”

Kaselionis said that the charity day for this quarter will take place on Friday, July 6, and that the bank would match the cash contributions of employees as part of the program. It also will set up containers for customers to donate food at its branches and establish an account to facilitate cash contributions.

Santa Rosa-based Redwood Empire Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Sonoma County and also serves Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties. It has received a four-star (out of four) rating for nine consecutive years from Charity Navigator for its adherence to best practices and good governance.

“Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation. It is year-round," said David Goodman, REFB executive director. "The risk of hunger increases during the summer for low-income children. Because school is out of session, they don’t have access to their free or reduced price school lunch programs."

Goodman said children represent 34,000 of the 78,000 local people that the REFB provides food assistance to every month. "This is made possible through the generosity of our community, and businesses like Circle Bank,” he said.

The Charity Day contributions, a feature of the bank’s CircleCares, are part of its continuing commitment to fighting hunger and building healthy communities.  Earlier in the year, the bank, supported by the Marin Community Foundation, Mollie Stone’s Markets and Unified Grocers, Inc., celebrated its 50th consecutive profitable quarter by donating 50,000 pounds of food to REFB as well as the San Francisco Food Bank, which serves Marin and San Francisco counties.

The Redwood Empire Food Bank, Sonoma County’s largest hunger-relief organization, has been in operation since 1987. Circle Bank provides a broad range of financial services to consumers and businesses and has branches in Novato, Corte Madera, San Rafael, Petaluma, Santa Rosa and San Francisco’s Noe Valley. The bank had total net assets of $316 million as of the quarter ending March 31.