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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

SoCalGas Funds Grocery Giveaway

A donation from utility SoCalGas funded two drive-through meal distribution events in Oxnard earlier this month in partnership with Food Share of Ventura County. The utility has allocated $500,000 to create the “Fueling our Communities” program, a series of meal giveaways in underserved neighborhoods in Ventura, Tulare, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties. “We were just trying to do something good for the community and local economy,” Maria Ventura, public affairs manager for SoCalGas’ Ventura County operations, told the Business Journal. Each county’s initiative looks a little different. In Ventura County, SoCalGas’ donation went to Food Share, which used the grant to supplement its daily grocery box giveaways with two drive-through events in Oxnard’s El Rio and College Park neighborhoods. The events, at which Food Share staff and volunteers loaded 20-pound grocery boxes into recipients’ trunks, provided more than 2,500 boxes comprising 26,000 free meals to Ventura County residents struggling with food insecurity – a growing population amid the coronavirus pandemic and the economic wreckage it has created. In addition to the grocery boxes, Food Share used part of its grant to buy gift cards from local, independent restaurants to give away at the events, a way of supporting small businesses as dining rooms remain restricted. The nonprofit bought a total of 800 $25 gift cards from Los Arcos and El Pescador in Santa Paula and Cabo Seafood & Grill and La Huerta juice bar in Oxnard. According to Food Share Chief Executive Monica White, “The owners of the restaurants all showed up to help with the distributions. They are just as appreciative.” She said about 25 percent of Ventura County’s food pantries have shut down their distribution services due to both the risk of transmitting the virus and a shortage of volunteers. Also, she said, access to non-perishable foodstuffs such as pasta, rice, beans and peanut butter dropped off a cliff early in the pandemic when people rushed to stock up. White added the funding from SoCalGas was much needed as demand for food in Ventura County remains sky high. At its daily distribution centers, she said, “(Cars) line up hours before we even start. … We work with the Oxnard Police Department to make sure traffic moves. It really backs up. A mile is good; usually it’s longer.” To meet demand, White said Food Share increased its monthly grocery budget from $50,000 to $300,000. Part of that cost has been absorbed by a three-month emergency contract with the county for $855,000. “Many of the people are repeat recipients who come through every week because they lost their job or they’ve been laid off,” White said. “They know they can come to our lines to get (food) for their family.”

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