The mission of the Redwood Empire Food Bank is to end hunger in our community. Food insecurity and hunger touches more than 94,000 (nearly one-fifth) Sonoma County residents including an estimated 25,000 children and over 11,000 seniors. The high cost of living (27% above the national average) is a major factor leading to food insecurity. Too many working families at the low end of the wage scale are forced to make tough choices between shelter, health care and adequate food. Disabled individuals living on SSI are chronically in need of food, many seniors require emergency food assistance even with the benefits of Social Security, and there are alarmingly high rates of iron deficiency anemia in very young children in low income neighborhoods of Sonoma County. With the cost of housing, transportation, medical coverage, and utilities continuing to rise much faster than wage rates, food insecurity and hunger are also increasing for low-income people in our area. Of the 50,000 people the REFB provides food for each month: 37 percent of food recipients are children; 12 percent are seniors 48 percent of recipient households include children 39 percent of all households receiving food assistance are working families Over 20 percent of people served experience housing insecurity