San Diego Food Bank
New “Super Pantry” Program
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter announced the launch of the regional hunger-relief nonprofit’s new “Super Pantry Program.” The “Super Pantry Program” will comprise 30 high-volume food distribution centers strategically located in communities throughout San Diego County from Camp Pendleton in the north to San Ysidro in the south and out to rural East County communities. The Food Bank is launching its “Super Pantry Program” in response to the exponential increase in demand for food assistance from tens of thousands of families impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The establishment of “Super Pantries” will reduce food lines and the amount of time families need to wait for food assistance. Each “Super Pantry” will distribute food a minimum of three days a week to prevent long lines experienced at one-time mass food distributions and cars being turned away due to limited supplies. With longer service hours on multiple days every week, the Food Bank can serve more households, more safely, more efficiently and more quickly.
Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter have distributed more than 10 million pounds of food over a 10-week period to an estimated 600,000 people in communities across San Diego County.
The Food Bank supplies food to San Diego County’s charitable food network through a hub and spoke model. Through this model, 500 nonprofits receive food from the San Diego Food Bank’s 90,000-square-foot warehouse in Miramar and the North County Food Bank’s 40,000-squarefoot warehouse in Vista. The Food Banks’ member nonprofits include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, low-income day care centers and senior centers. Currently, the Food Bank supplies food for 200 scheduled food distributions every month throughout the county.
James A. Floros, President & CEO of the San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter shared with GB Magazine, “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have increased the amount of food we distribute by 67%, and we are currently feeding nearly 600,000 people every month, up from 350,000 per month prior to the start of the crisis.”
“The launch of our new Super Food Pantry Program will greatly increase the capacity of our existing food distribution network partners. With a regional unemployment rate of 30% and COVID-19’s devastating impact on our economy, the need for enhanced food distribution centers will remain for the foreseeable future. Our new Super Food Pantries will enable the Food Bank to distribute more food more safely, quickly and efficiently to families in need while the pandemic maintains its grip our region.”
The Food Bank has been at the forefront of the Coronavirus pandemic, leading the County’s charitable food network to ensure that tens of thousands of families affected by the crisis receive food assistance. The Food Bank is committed to serving San Diego County throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.sandiegofoodbank.org
