Patrons line up to receive food from the Yolo Food Bank, who recently received the People-First AI grant awarded by the OpenAI Foundation. Photo courtesy of Dylan Mackeben/Yolo Food Bank

WOODLAND, CA (MPG) - Yolo Food Bank is one of 163 recipients nationally selected to receive the People-First AI grant awarded by the OpenAI Foundation. Yolo Food Bank is the only Yolo County based awardee, and the only California food bank to receive the grant.

The OpenAI Foundation published an open call for proposals that closed on July 15. The People-First AI Fund is supporting three key areas this year: community support services, community arts and cultural organizations, and community journalism and media. The funds from the grant are unrestricted and left up to the discretion of each organization to use them in a manner that will best serve their communities.

It was a competitive grant pool with nearly 1,700 applicants. Recipients were notified of their awards on Sept. 30.

The Executive Director of Yolo Food Bank Karen Baker said, “These funds come at such a critical time. Simply put, our community needs food to work, study, and to thrive. Helping us meet this most basic need in the most impoverished county in California shows that the OpenAI Foundation is aware of this reality.”

This grant will be used to make sure the future of Yolo Food Bank is secure so they can continue fulfilling their mission to meet the food and nutrition needs of Yolo County for many years to come.

Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs said, “I’m grateful to the OpenAI Foundation for recognizing one of our county’s most impactful nonprofits, the Yolo Food Bank, with this generous grant. The need for the services the food bank provides is greater than ever, so giving funds to help support our community members in need is so relevant in this moment.”  

Prior to the grant announcement, at their Sept. 23 meeting, the Yolo Food Bank board of directors approved an AI Use Policy for the organization which will ensure responsible, safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence technologies by their staff, board and volunteers. This policy was put into place recognizing the prevalence of AI technology and the need to safeguard Yolo Food Bank’s sensitive data and records.

To learn more about the OpenAI Foundation and to see the rest of the 2026 People-First AI Fund grant recipients, visit https://openaifoundation.org/news/2026-people-first-ai-fund-grantees.