Nearly 60% of the people Twin Lakes Food Bank spoke with at the Folsom Family Expo on Oct. 10 had never heard of the organization.
That finding caught the food bank's attention. The Folsom nonprofit served just over 40,000 guests in the past year, according to a blog post by Rachel Hill on the food bank's website. In 2020-21, that number was more than 21,000.
"Before people can support a mission, they need to know it exists," Hill wrote.
The awareness gap prompted Twin Lakes Food Bank to form an Events Team earlier this year. The team made its debut at Folsom's Annual Hometown Parade on July 1, the food bank said in a separate post on its website. Staff and volunteers walked alongside a float featuring the food bank's organic garden, handing out beads, bubbles and seed packets to children along Sutter Street.
Spectators told the team they didn't know the food bank had a garden. The food bank reported a measurable increase in online engagement afterward.
The outreach push comes as the organization plans a new facility. Twin Lakes Food Bank closed escrow on a 1.78-acre parcel behind Mount Olive Lutheran Church, directly across Montrose Drive from its current location in a renovated duplex, the Folsom Times reported in December 2025. The food bank had operated out of that duplex for 29 years.
Lisa Tuter, executive director of Twin Lakes Food Bank, told the Folsom Times at the time that the organization was serving more than 34,000 people a year. The food bank's October blog post puts the figure above 40,000, though the specific time period is not defined.
A $3.1 million capital campaign had raised $2.25 million as of the December 2025 report. The planned facility would bring all warehouse and refrigerated storage on-site, increase food storage capacity from 600,000 to more than one million pounds and extend distribution days and times. Ian Cornell, the food bank's building committee chairman, said at the time that engineering and architecture work would follow the land purchase.
Hill wrote that food donations are down, food prices are up and more families are relying on the food bank. With more affordable housing being built in Folsom, the organization expects demand to keep growing.
Twin Lakes Food Bank is marking its 40th anniversary with "A Moment in Time," a gala scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at Bayside Church Folsom. Tickets are $150 per person and are available at twinlakesfoodbank.org/2026gala. An online auction runs Oct. 30 through Nov. 7, according to the Folsom Times.
The 20th annual Folsom Turkey Trot on Nov. 26, which benefits Twin Lakes Food Bank along with the Folsom Athletic Association and the Johnny Cash Trail, starts at 8:50 a.m. at Rodeo Park/Folsom City Lions Park. Details are at folsomturkeytrot.com.
