According to Feeding America, the food-insecure population in Santa Clara County reached 168,960 people in 2022, 30,930 of whom are children.
Amidst financial difficulties and food insecurity following quarantine, Del Mar transformed its parking lot into a mobile food pantry, ensuring families in the area have easy access to groceries.
The school collaborates weekly with the nonprofit organization City Team and volunteers from Awakening Church to manage and oversee the food pantry. Volunteer Tomas Carradero has been with City Team for the past 3 years, recently becoming a manager this past year.
“I started volunteering with the church because I believed in the church’s mission of serving its community, but I serve just in general for the same reason, our communities are in a constant state of struggling, and we need to help them with basic needs like this, but also systematic change,” said Carradero.
The pantry happens once every week between 3:30 and 4:30 PM in the back parking lot, with volunteers sorting and bagging groceries to distribute to families in their cars.
At two o’clock, a City Team truck drops off six pallets of food containing produce, dairy, and chicken for the other volunteers to bag and hand out to families, though volunteers are unaware of exactly what they get each week.
“Last time it was popcorn, this time it was extra celery,” Carradero said. “And so we have to be flexible in putting that all together.”
Tasks at the food pantry are frequently completed ahead of schedule because many volunteers return regularly, creating a smooth-running team within the pantry.
“It’s encouraging to see people come out and believe in supporting their community and taking time out of their day, out of their week, and gas and whatever it may be to be here,” Carradero says.
Although the pantry mainly focuses on food, it isn’t limited to just groceries, volunteers handing out tax flyers for example so families can get help filing their taxes and maximizing their refunds.
“Every other week, 115 families get to come through and know that someone is out there looking out for them,” Carradero says. “That’s the impact on the people we serve.”
