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SLO Food Bank shut down for food quality issues

December 3, 2017

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has shut down the SLO Food Bank’s warehouse because of issues with food safety and for operating without a valid processed food registration permit. [Cal Coast Times]

On Nov. 27, a state investigator inspected the SLO Food Bank’s facility on Kendall Road in San Luis Obispo and discovered the unsanitary and regulatory issues. The state also cited the Food Bank for “food adulteration,” the process of adding inferior additions to foods that make the products unsafe.

“Due to the unsanitary conditions, all food within the facility is embargoed, and no new food can be moved into the facility until sanitary conditions have been restored,” the CDPH said Friday in a statement to KSBY.

Each month, the SLO Food Bank helps feed about 6,000 families. About 60 percent of scheduled food deliveries will be made next week, according to Food Bank CEO Kevin Drabinski.

SLO Food Bank officials and state inspectors will meet next week to discuss how to correct the Food Bank’s safety and regulatory issues.


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What, where is the rest of the article?


Has anyone reported being sickened by foodbank in some specific incident? Is this the first offense? How about elaborated on how food bank is “adulterating” the food, and why? This is a very poor CCN


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I work for a non-profit that helps distribute food for the SLO Foodbank. Ever since they decided to combine the operations of their two leased warehouses in Oceano and Paso Robles into the one owned building in SLO; the entire operation has been haphazard at best. The food selection and quality delivered from the new building has been absolutely horrid for the past year since they moved. This will be the second year in a row that many agencies received far less holiday food to serve their clients than in years past. I believe at least 20 local non-profits have cancelled their contracts with Foodbank, and have started grass-roots food collection efforts of their own because of SLO Foodbank’s continued incompetence. Having worked with the SLO Foodbank for the past seven years, it is in my opionion that the agency placed their new building as priority ahead of their clientele. SLO Foodbank’s main focus for these past two years has been centered around fundraising and building their new facility in SLO (and I believe the new building has taken priority over and above serving their clients). The new building is much smaller in square footage than the two combined leased facilities, which has severely limited the quanitity of food that SLO Foodbank is able to process and distribute to it’s clients. What non-profit agency endures the expense of building a new facility that will further limit their ability to serve it’s clients? I believe SLO Foodbank has lost it’s way, and this shutdown is the most public proof of the giant dirty secret they have kept hidden since moving into their new building.


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It sounds to me like you have a stake in one of the “new” operations. Did you used to work for CAPSLO?


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Actually our non-profit stopped distributing food completely shortly after Foodbank moved into their new facility because the supply was so unreliable, and we are not affiliated with any other food distributing organization. However, funny you should mention CAPSLO. The same thing is happening to Foodbank that happened to CAPSLO years ago. Everybody thinks that Foodbank does so much good in the community, and their staff and management are completely altruistic. Everyone thinks that Foodbank can do no wrong. But really, just like CAPSLO they have gotten too big from the top down. More Chiefs than Indians, putting a big shiny new building as priority ahead of their clientele. People that work for non-profits are not necessarily saints. They too can get money and power hungry. I think Foodbank has become too big, and has lost it’s way; just like CAPSLO.


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The Agency that oversee’s these issues is notorious for “plain dumbness”. No one says seeing rodent droppings is OK, but come on, there is a current rodent epidemic. How about isseing them a citation and “fix it”, rather than closure. This is a great organization, doing needed work. The local health agencies are left looking poorly. Shame on CDPh… big , useless jokers, total bullies.


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Another case of your typical government agency. Starve 6000 people because a permit and associated fees are not in place. Kinda reminds me of the “Foxy” story. If I was to shoot a damn seagull (winged rat)for ripping the trash out of a can and making a mess Id go to jail. If the “government” see’s it fit to kill because something was “hungry” and just doing what comes naturally its OK to kill it.


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How many people have gotten sick from the Food Bank’s free food? They don’t say.


How many have gotten hungry “”for operating without a valid processed food registration permit? “” It doesn’t say….but I assume that anyone who was dependent on the Food Bank is probably worried right now….not about a permit, but about hunger.


I think this situation requires donations to elected county officials in order to get “fixed.” Giving away food is cruel. Hungry people want to know the permit is in place.


I’ll retract my statements gladly if someone can show me that sickness or injury has happened due to the Food Banks practices and lapsed permitting.


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Don’t worry Kevin Drabinsk will continue to receive his full salary and benefits and have no consequences to his failure of his job. The public sector way.


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