FOOD Share, Inc., Ventura County’s Food Bank, received a donation of $10,000 from Wells Fargo in response to increasing demand for food assistance in the county.

“On behalf of all the agencies we serve I’d like to extend our gratitude to Wells Fargo,” said Fran McNeill, interim CEO. “With the enormous increase in the cost of living over the last six months, these funds are truly needed to keep the food flowing through FOOD Share to the hungry in our community. In our history of food banking, this is by far the most drastic, across the board, increase in demand for emergency food assistance I’ve ever seen.”

Despite a challenging economy in 2007, Wells Fargo’s charitable donations to non-profit organizations based in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties went up nearly 10 percent compared to grants given by the company the previous year. Last year, Wells Fargo awarded 149 grants and $400,170 to non-profit organizations throughout the Pacific Coast region.

"With demand soaring and donations declining, our local food banks are in desperate need of support,” said Marla Vasquez, Wells Fargo Pacific Coast Community Bank president. “Wells Fargo is encouraging corporate leaders in Ventura County to donate time and money to the regional food banks to see them through this crisis."