Throughout Ventura County the number of people needing help feeding their families continues to grow. Food Share of Ventura County, which was established in 1983, helps address this need with its 150 partnered outreach agencies and over 300 volunteers. In 2010 Food Share distributed over nine million pounds of food to more than 74,500 people each month countywide. This number represents more than 6.8 million meals.

Volunteers are a huge part of all the programs along with faith based organizations that provide 67% of the distribution outreach and non-profits which provide about 25%. The primary source of food products made available are through donations from local grocery stores, supermarket chains, food manufacturers, distributors, the government, foundations, local farmers, harvesting efforts, food drives and private individuals.

One of the biggest food drives, The Postal Carriers’ Food Drive, was recently held. This drive allows the citizens of the county to donate food on a designated Saturday, which was May 12th this year, by putting the items out for their mail carrier to collect and bring back to the local post office. Those items are then distributed to outreach programs.

Bonnie Weigel, CEO and President of Ventura County Food Share said, “In the four years I’ve been with Food Share I’ve seen the need grow by 63%. When I began we provided for 44,000 recipients each month, today it’s 74,500 who receive food each month.” Weigel went on to say that about 10% are homeless, but most are working poor and are only able to provide for about 85% of the food their families need, this leaves about three or four days a month where the food dollar does not stretch far enough. That is where decision must be made of buying food or using the money to buy gas for the car to get to work, paying utilities, medication or other essential needs. According to Feeding America 46% of those requiring help had to choose between paying utilities, 40% between paying their rent/mortgage, 34% transportation or gas for the car. The help these families receive from the many distribution points aids in providing the supplemental food needed for those 3 or 4 days.

Weigel said, “Local growers provide about half of all the food donated to Food Share…they are wonderful, we can’t thank them enough.” Food Share has fostered a close working relationship with Ventura County growers to provide low income families and individuals with fresh produce. In the past many crops were left in the fields to be plowed under because they didn’t meet commercial standards or because of fluctuating market conditions making the harvesting of some crops (walk by crops) not cost effective. Today Food Share works with growers to capture crops that were routinely wasted. Workers were retrained to select at two grades of produce, commercial and that which is to be donated. The packers then sort each into the appropriate containers that are clearly distinguishable from each other. Food Share sometimes pays for the harvesting, packaging, cooling, storage and loading. But often some or all of the produce and cost is donated along with surplus produce. The growers receive a value added processing fee for crops that would not have been harvested and workers have longer days which they benefits from by changing from an hourly rate to a piece rate, thereby earning more pay. In 2009 Ventura County growers donated 3.6 million pounds of fruit and vegetables with 1.2 million pounds coming from Fillmore, Simi Valley and Moorpark growers.

There are a number of outreach programs locally. One such program is the Saint Vincent de Paul outreach at St Francis of Assisi Church. It is run by Tom and Pat Montali who have volunteered their services since 2004. The program started in 1995 with 80 families; today 600 are enrolled and 180 families participate weekly. Four volunteers in two cars pick up the food from Food Share in Oxnard on Wednesday and about 10 volunteers package it to be given out every Tuesday.

One of the programs top priorities is visiting the sick and elderly which they would like more available volunteers to provide that service. Tom Montali stated, “We have never had to ask for donations or volunteers…when we started in 2004 we were able to meet the program’s needs, today the grant money and products are drying up…we are so grateful for the support from the local growers.”

Montali said they’re seeing much younger people needing food and that many of the businesses that donated products in the past are now selling them to places such as the 99 Cents stores which has left a void. Another problem is the lack of sufficient refrigerator/frozen storage on site. The recent Postal Carriers Food Drive in Fillmore which resulted in the program receiving 24,000 pounds of food was a huge help. The program is still in needs of donations of canned foods such as tuna, ham, salmon and chicken, soups and vegetables or cash donations to buy items.

The requirements to participate in this program are proof of residency in Fillmore with a utility bill and a financial need. The address is 1048 Ventura St. Fillmore every Tuesday morning between 10am and 11am.

One Step A La Vez is a teen wellness and drop-in center which provides a community food distribution program every other week and is run by a group of young volunteers whose ages range between 13-19 years. Cindy Escoto is the program director, Lynn Edmonds the CEO and Celene Cruz the Board of Director President. The Food Distribution Committee originally worked to bring a Farmer's Market to Fillmore which began September 3, 2010. The food distribution program began as a way to address what the members saw as a need to provide healthy food to the community. Starting in 2009 with about 20 families, today the program serves 50-65 families every other week. James Doran donates his truck to pick up the food and every other Wednesday 25 to 30 One Step members volunteer about three hours to package food for the needy; which often runs out leaving some families turned away. The program has applied and receives various grants, but needs more food donations and a van to pick up donations from various locations including Food Share in Oxnard. There are no requirements to participate, everyone is welcome. The distribution is held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 600 Saratoga St., Fillmore every other Wednesday between 3:30pm-4:30pm.

Another outreach is the North Fillmore Police Storefront ran by Max Pina. This location has distributed the USDA monthly Commodity Program since 2000. The program began with 30-34 families, but today that number is 90-125. In August 2011 the Storefront added the bi-monthly Senior Brown Bag program. Three weeks a month Food Share delivers the food and 10-12 volunteers spend 2-3 hours packaging it for distribution. There is no storage space or refrigeration on site, so all must be distributed on the day it arrives. The requirements for the Senior Brown Bag are those required by the USDA. There are no requirements for receiving Commodities and everyone is welcome. The dates of distributions are selected Wednesday mornings between 8:30am-10am.

The outreach First Five in Santa Paula is directed by Irma Magana, a single mother of three who began with Santa Clara Valley Neighborhood For Learning nine years ago. She spent seven years in Fillmore running Food Share’s ‘Sharing the Harvest’ program at Rancho Sespe, which was the first distribution point to deliver fresh produce directly to needy families. Today Sharing the Harvest is distributed to many areas throughout the county.

Every first Friday of the month Santa Paula and Fillmore share the produce donated starting first in Santa Paula at the First Five Office, 217 N. 10th St. between 8:30am and 10am. Then Food Share driver Robert Apodaca continues on to Fillmore’s Sharing the Harvest site. Apodaca, who started with Food Share as a volunteer in January 2007, now works as an employee delivering and picking up produce five days a week to as many as 11 or more sites a day with the busiest times during the holidays. Food Share trucks drove 88,217 miles in FY 2010 and used 11,181 gallons of fuel.

There are no requirements to participate in Sharing the Harvest and everyone is welcome. Distribution is on the first Friday of the month behind St Francis of Assisi Church (the parking lot) located at 217 N.10th St., Fillmore.

One of the longest running outreach programs, started in the early 90’s, is Open Hand Ministry under the guidance of South Coast Fellowship in Ventura. Larry Nordyke has been the director for the past 10 years and has seen the increase in need that this economy as brought. Nordyke said the first week 19 families a week participated, about 120 families a month. Today the numbers are 156 families a week, 627 families a month. The food is provided by Food Share, Trader Joes and Vons and unlike many of the other programs, Open Hand has refrigeration storage and provides a variety of cold items including frozen. The program is supported by the South Coast Fellowship members who also offer clothing for those in need. The requirements to participate are only a financial need and proof of county residency. The distribution is once each month on Wednesday or Thursday, with dates and day selected by the participant’s first letter of their last name. The address is 4050 Market St., Ventura.

As the country struggles with four years of the worst financial, housing and unemployment crisis to hit since the Great Depression, America’s hunger numbers have increased dramatically and continue to climb. A USDA survey in 2008 found the number of people with inadequate food supply (food insecure) rose to 49 million individuals, 17.1 million households, a 36% increase over the previous year 2007 at 37 million individuals and 14.5 million households. A 2010 report by Food Research and Action Center stated one in five Californians struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families and in Ventura County one in four children are hungry. According to Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index California’s rate of 20.5% is higher than the national rate of food hardship at 18%. The Children’s Defense Fund reported in 2011 the percentage of children living in extreme poverty in California has increased by 16.11% between 2009 and 2010. Over 2.8 million people in the state do not have reliable access to enough food, meaning that more than 1 in 3 state residents is on the verge of need at any given time. Many are beyond the verge and are in desperate need. These men, women, children, elderly, disabled and mentally ill are reliant either on local charities, churches and food pantries; or they are simply missing meals.

The resources required to operate food programs effectively are enormous and requires community support, food, staff and physical space. Food Share owns and operates 26,482 square feet of warehouse space that includes a 1,176 square foot cooler (17,640 cubic feet, which is equivalent to 802 household refrigerators) and 1,176 square foot freezer (17,640 cubic feet, which is equivalent to 1,176 household freezers), 1 loading dock, 934 pallet positions, 23 pieces of material handling equipment and 15 trucks. The warehouse receives 31,325 pounds of food a day.

Under administrative contracts with state and federal authorities, food banks such a Food Share are the primary distributors of USDA Federal Commodity Supplemental Food Programs, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Senior Brown Bag which serves nearly 2,000 low income seniors in Ventura County.