The food bank system works as a hub-and-wheel system. At the hub are the purchasing, storage and transportation services provided by the food bank and its partners. Second Harvest sources more than 8 million pounds of food each year from farms, grocery stores, food manufacturers, distributors, and individuals.
At the ends of many spokes of this wheel are 100 food pantries, schools, soup kitchens, group homes and youth centers, distributing to those in need of food in our county, feeding about 55,000 people each month, in normal times. That includes children, seniors, veterans, homeless, the under-employed and others needing some help from their neighbors to make it through a tough time.
Among these partners are numerous faith-based volunteer organizations whose food pantries complete the work by regularly supplying food into the hands of those who need it. This story spotlights some of the food bank’s faith-based partners, helping accomplish this huge job every month in Aptos, Soquel, Capitola and Scotts Valley.
The diverse religions in our county clearly have some things in common. One of them is helping feed those among us who have difficulty buying enough healthy food. Faith-based congregations distribute food through their neighborhood pantries and raise donations to help Second Harvest make purchases.
Four meals for a dollar is what food bank donations buy, far better than buying food at retail and collecting it in bins all over the county. That was the former system, abandoned during the pandemic. No shortage resulted — because an outpouring of generosity in labor, love and financial support.
“Our county’s faith based community has always been great supporters of the food bank,” explains Richelle Noroyan, corporate & community relations director at Second Harvest. “Their contributions since the pandemic have been record-breaking. They have filled gaps that allowed the food bank to go from serving 55,000 people monthly pre-pandemic to over 100,000. These contributions let many families to pay their rent or mortgage and have healthy food.”
Currently Second Harvest is seeing 75,000 to 80,000 people believe their access to good food is temporal.
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Aptos
Twin Lakes Church is seeing more new people. Robin Spurlock, People’s Pantry manager, recalls comments like, Wow! So wonderful! You’ve answered my prayers during unemployment.
Robin Spurlock
“This is so rewarding to see,” Robin recalls. “We have a great working relationship with Second Harvest.”
Twin Lakes, with a congregation in the thousands, is consistently one of the top donors during the Holiday Food Drive.
People’s Pantry is open Wednesdays 4 to 5:15 PM
Resurrection Food Pantry has been providing food to the community for the past 18 years supported by the Resurrection Church.
The majority of folks receiving food there live in mid-county. Twenty percent come from other areas. Following last year’s shelter-in-place order, Resurrection Church reported the number of “regular” pantry visitors had gone down.
But more new families began arriving to receive food. Additionally, they’ve seen an increase in people experiencing homelessness and seeking assistance. The numbers changed but the pantry, staffed by parishioners, continues its communiy support.
Resurrection Pantry is open Monday & Friday from 10am – noon
St. Andrews Presbyterian supports the food bank though its Youth Crop Walk, while the entire congregation collects non-perishable foods, explains Reverend Anne McAnelly.
The Egg Basket Ministry of Dorothy Glaum, of Glaum Eggs, donates 30 dozen eggs each week for members and friends to buy at cost with all proceeds to Second Harvest. In 21 years, more than 150,000 meals have been donated. During the pandemic, this increased dramatically.
“We’ve raised thousands of dollars for Second Harvest while keeping people fed and safe, because of the Glaum family’s generosity,” McAnelly adds.
Scotts Valley
Sally Sutter
St. Philip The Apostle Episcopal Church’s pantry, or Pip’s Pantry, as they call it, has been feeding anyone in need since 2010.
Pantry Team Leader Sally Sutter says, “It’s important understanding it’s more than just food. (We need) to break through, to think and act respectfully and not be judgmental. We have many underserved people in Scotts Valley. The zip code doesn’t tell the story. For all the volunteers in our program, the weekly act of seeing the actual faces and hearing the stories of those experiencing food insecurity is a potent reality check.”
St. Philip’s Pip’s Pantry is open Thursdays from 5 – 6:30pm
Soquel
Congregational Church of Soquel provides healthy food for families in the county by teaming with Second Harvest.
“It’s a perfect fit for the heart of our ministry,” says Laura Hamby, a key volunteer. Two of the church’s long-standing partnership projects shared with Second Harvest include:
- Hand-to-Hand — Initiated close to 20 years ago when the first group of church members and friends spent a Saturday morning at the warehouse packing family food bags. The tradition continued once each Fall and Spring ever since.
- A Taste of Soquel: Food and Music for the Common Good! — Debuting in September 2009. A Taste supports Second Harvest with 100 percent of proceeds and brings people together to celebrate Soquel. The event has provided 402,526 healthy meals and $100,631 over the last 12 years.
The 13th (Almost) Annual A Taste of Soquel will be Sept. 24, 2022
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Faith-based partners supporting Second Harvest in these four communities include: Temple Beth El and New Hope Community Church in Aptos; Soquel Bilingual Seventh-day Adventist® Church and Inner Light Ministries in Soquel.
TOP PHOTO: People’s Pantry, Twin Lakes Church