Paratransit honored for helping connect Sacramento residents with healthy food

Paratransit CEO Tiffani Fink and her colleagues are honored at the Sacramento City Council

Sacramento (Nov. 1, 2022) Mayor Darrell Steinberg and his colleague on the City Council Tuesday held a special presentation honoring Paratransit, Inc. for its work increasing food access for low-income residents of Sacramento.

Paratransit has in the past three years branched out beyond its traditional role of providing accessible transportation services into a larger social service agenda that includes connecting vulnerable people with fresh food and affordable housing.

“Paratransit is absolutely innovative — always showing up and stepping up,” said Councilwoman Mai Vang.

The non-profit recently was awarded $172,000 by the USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program to launch its Farmers’ Market Accessibility Program, which will increase access to fresh produce for low-income residents of South Sacramento.  In conjunction with its partners, Meals on Wheels by ACC and Alchemist Community Development Corporation, Paratransit, Inc. will operate two shuttles every Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm., providing round-trip pickups and drop-offs from the Pannell Meadowview Community Center to the Florin Road Farmers’ Market.

A Great Plates recipient receives her meal

When the Covid pandemic began, Paratransit put its vans and drivers to use delivering food to families in partnership with local restaurants. In May of 2020, Paratransit joined the Great Plates Delivered campaign, partnering with 42 local restaurants to provide nutritious meals three days a week to over 1,000 Sacramento seniors and other residents who needed additional assistance while sheltering in place.

All told, Paratransit delivered 2 million meals to through Great Plates Delivered, which injected nearly $20 million into the local economy and saved over 332 food service jobs.

“We had a staff who didn’t want to stay home; who wanted to help people,” said Paratransit CEO Tiffani Fink.

The agency is preparing to expand its mission further by joining with other non-profits in an affordable housing development called the Kind Project, 216 low-income accessible units planned for a vacant lot owned by Paratransit at 7141 Woodbine Ave. in south Sacramento.

Paratransit will run the KIND Project in partnership with non-profit groups that can then place their clients into housing units using rent subsidies and provide on-site supportive services. Groups joining forces on the project include Waking the Village, Lutheran Social Services, Resources for Independent Living, the LGBTQ Center, Creative Living Options and CityYear, whose participants can live there and perform service projects for the residents. Ten of the units will be reserved for direct referral from the City’s emergency and transitional sheltering programs.

The Kind Project