Alhambra Council Approves $60K Donation to Food Pantry from Emergency Reserves

Alhambra City Council meeting, August 25, 2025 (Photo – Screengrab)

A heated debate unfolded at Monday night’s Alhambra City Council meeting over a proposal to tap into the City’s emergency reserve funds for a donation to a local food pantry operated in partnership with a teacher’s union.

By News Desk

The proposal, introduced by Councilmember Adele Andrade-Stadler, called for $60,000 to sustain the pantry she co-founded. While framed as an initiative to combat food insecurity in Alhambra and its school district, an issue Andrade-Stadler said affects tens of thousands in the community, the proposal allocated only $6,000 (10% of the total request) directly for food, with the remaining $54,000 earmarked for overhead costs, including staff salaries ($49,000).

City Manager Jessica Binnquist pointed out that Alhambra had never before used taxpayer funds to support a nonprofit directly. Public comment revealed concerns about the appropriateness of allocating emergency reserve funds to a nonprofit without a formal framework or accountability measures. While the importance of addressing food insecurity was acknowledged, the debate centered on whether it was sound policy for the City to make such a donation without clear criteria for evaluating similar future requests.

Public Comments

During the public comment period, several AUSD students spoke about food insecurity in the community. Representatives from the Alhambra Teachers Association (ATA) and Urban Visionaries, the nonprofit set to receive the funds, highlighted the work their organizations do. However, others raised concerns about using reserve funds in this way, questioning the transparency of the process, the lack of oversight, and the disproportionate allocation of funds to administrative costs rather than directly to food assistance.

Council Deliberation

Councilmembers expressed differing views during the discussion. Councilmember Ross Maza praised the pantry’s work but acknowledged that the optics of the proposal were problematic. He offered to donate his stipend to the pantry to help alleviate some of the funding issues.

Vice Mayor Jeff Maloney argued that food insecurity should be treated as an emergency, stressing that for many in the community, it is a dire issue. Maloney also debated the classification of staff salaries as overhead, suggesting that future requests for funding like this should be evaluated differently.

Councilmember Noya Wang voiced support for addressing food insecurity but emphasized the need for a clear process when spending taxpayer dollars. Wang suggested alternatives, such as mobilizing the City’s Youth Commission to assist or helping the pantry access county and federal resources. She also proposed that the City create a competitive bidding process to ensure fairness and transparency in future nonprofit funding decisions.

Mayor Katherine Lee echoed Wang’s concerns, particularly regarding the breakdown of the requested funds. “I have a problem with the majority of the funds going to staff salaries and not food itself,” Lee said. She recommended that the City establish a formal program and clear evaluation criteria before considering similar donations in the future.

Councilmember Andrade-Stadler confirmed her involvement in founding the food pantry and emphasized the urgency of the cause.

The Final Vote

After further deliberation, Mayor Lee moved to table the item until the City develops a formal program and evaluation criteria for funding nonprofits. However, the motion failed, with only Councilmember Wang voting in favor. Andrade-Stadler, Maloney, and Maza voted to approve the immediate $60,000 donation. The decision marked the first time that Alhambra has used reserve funds to support a nonprofit organization. Many questions remain about the process, and the discussion is likely to continue in future meetings.