Former Yolo Food Bank executive awarded nearly $3M in wrongful termination case
After Yolo County jurors delivered a sweeping verdict in his favor, Yolo Food Bank’s former executive director said he can finally think about the future.
Michael Bisch’s 3-year-long legal battle against Yolo Food Bank and its then-board of directors came to a close in a Woodland courtroom earlier this month. Jurors on Nov. 12 found the food bank’s leaders liable for wrongful termination, breach of contract, defamation and whistleblower violations at the former director’s civil trial.
Bisch said the board ruined his career and reputation in a disinformation campaign that ultimately cost him his job.
Jurors agreed, awarding him millions of dollars in initial damages: $1,041,667 for wrongful termination, $1,051,667 for whistleblower retaliation, $666,667 for breach of contract; as well as varying other amounts levied against the food bank and individuals named in the lawsuit for what attorneys labeled a “campaign of defamation” against Bisch.
“I paid a devastating price for speaking up — years of abuse and false narratives, a destroyed career, and a shattered reputation,” he said in a statement this week. “Last week, twelve jurors saw the truth. I’m deeply grateful for the time they invested,” Bisch said in prepared remarks.”
A second phase Nov. 19 awarded tens of thousands more dollars to the former executive director.
All told, jurors awarded Bisch $2.9 million for his claims.
“More important work of course remains to protect our most vulnerable community members,” Bisch said. “But for the first time in years, I can think about what comes next.”
Yolo Food Bank officials declined to answer questions about or discuss the case as it considers its legal options. In a statement, the nonprofit’s executive director, Karen Baker, said the food bank will “continue our focus on serving our community to provide for those in need.”
Yolo Food Bank serves about 30,700 families each month and distributes about 9.6 million pounds of food annually, according to the nonprofit.
“We greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness and diligence put forth by the jury throughout the trial. In the coming days, we will review the decision and consider all our legal options,” Baker said. “While the trial has ended, the reality is the demand for the services of Yolo Food Bank never ceases.”
Attorneys argued that Bisch rescued the nonprofit from the brink of insolvency during his four years as executive director and set it on its path to success. News reports chronicled the food bank’s comeback, its awards for nonprofit of the year and business of the year, the new fundraising records and honors for its star executive Bisch. A number of former employees testified at trial to the turnaround under Bisch’s watch, Bisch attorney Sanjiv Singh said.
But the food bank’s attorneys claimed that he ran afoul of local Yolo governmental officials and Yolo Food Bank board members by revealing the county’s and cities’ noncompliance with state law mandating that they provide funding to recover edible surplus food that otherwise would have been thrown away.
Former board members Dan Ramos and James Durst and current member Elizabeth Schmitz are named individually in the lawsuit.
Senate Bill 1383 took effect in January 2022 and was designed to reduce food waste and food insecurity by directing cities and counties to donate surplus food to food banks, relief kitchens and food recovery sites to help feed hungry Californians.
Bisch’s attorneys alleged that Yolo County and its cities devised a strategy to skirt SB 1383’s food mandates as well as campaigns to discredit Bisch and apply pressure to Yolo Food Bank board members to “reign in and silence” Bisch.
Bisch was fired as the food bank’s director by board members in mid-2022. The sudden ouster and the board’s efforts to have Bisch dismissed in the weeks before he was let go prompted an angry no-confidence vote from the food bank’s executive team demanding answers, accountability and Bisch to return to work.
“This verdict vindicates Mr. Bisch’s four years of exemplary service to Yolo County’s most vulnerable residents,” Singh said, calling Bisch “a champion of nonprofit accountability” in a statement. “He fought a long and hard battle to seek justice for retaliation and refused to capitulate when his board gave in to improper pressure and conflicted interests.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 1:37 PM.
.JPG)