The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust is gearing up for a digital campaign aimed at providing healthy, harvested seafood to those needing food assistance.

Starting June 9, the Fisheries Trust will kick-off the 2025 Week of Seafood Giving, with a goal of raising $5,000 for the Community Seafood Program. In addition, thanks to a private supporter, all donations up to $5,000 will be matched, doubling the impact and the number of meals donated.

The donation page can be found on the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust website at montereybayfisheriestrust.org. Donations can be made online June 9-15.

The Community Seafood Program, launched by the Fisheries Trust back in 2020, provides sustainably harvested seafood to local families, farmworkers, seniors and others in need of assistance, along with providing economic support to local fishermen, food workers and seafood businesses.

The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust works with local seafood suppliers to buy goods at a fair market rate. They then coordinate the deliveries to several food relief partners in the area including Meals on Wheels, The Food Bank of Monterey County and Pajaro Loaves and Fishes, to name a few.

The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust helps increase community access to healthy and local seafood, while promoting the local economy and Monterey’s biodiversity. The Fisheries Trust partners with the fishing industry, local governments and conservation organizations to build more awareness and accessibility to others.

According to the Monterey County Food Bank, the demand for food had quadrupled since 2020 — hence programs like the Community Seafood Program to connect fishermen and seafood businesses to local families.