It’s 2 o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon, and with that command, four lines of cars, trucks, van, and SUV’s start to move through a parking lot at Oxnard College. They stop at stations next to some pop-up tents, where volunteers load boxes of food into their vehicles.
Hundreds of people in need are here for a drive-thru food distribution program. Among them are Susan and Jack Waterson.
"It means the world to us. We get to eat fresh fruit. We're homeless, and live in a van, but we have a little stove and cook out," said Susan Waterson. "We're able to make our food last for a whole week, and then some."
The non-profit group Food Share started the drive-thru food program at Oxnard College four years ago. It was supposed to be a 90 day long disaster relief effort to help those hard hit by the pandemic. But, it’s serving more people now than it did in 2020.
"We said we're going to do this for 90 days. Okay, we're going to do it for six months. We're going to do it for a year. And here we are, four years later, still doing it," said
Monica White, who is the President, and CEO of Food Share.
The organization started the drive-thru giveaways with a $3 million grant from Ventura County, but now funds it itself. White said the need for assistance is a big as ever.
"Even though COVID may be over, still, we're seeing a huge need in the community," said White. These are people who could be farmworkers, working families, there are children, there are seniors. there are veterans. There is no one face of hunger."
Since it started four years ago, Food Share has distributed 500,000 boxes of food to a million people at this weekly Wednesday afternoon event. As many as a thousand vehicles come though here weekly, serving about 5400 people. The food varies from week to week, but it’s always a nutritious mix.
"They're going to get a box of shelf stable food items (today), pasta, rice beans, mixed veggies, mixed fruit, peanut butter, a bag of Cuties (tangerines), apples, milk, and a big old piece of pork loin," said Jennifer Caldwell, who is Food Share’s Chief Development Officer.
Every week, more than 50 volunteers are on hand to do everything from unloading pallets of food to actually putting boxes in people’s cars. Beth Collins is one of the volunteers.
"After I retired, I wanted to do something, and found this," said Collins. "I just loved it from the minute I started. It feels good."
There’s no formal screening process for the food. People show up, and if they have an ID and address in Ventura County, they are eligible. The amount of food they get is based on how many people are in their household.
Karen Earhart says she doesn’t know what she’d do without the help.
"Every Wednesday, we come here," she said. What would happen without it? She admits there are times they would end up going hungry.
Food Share and community leaders gathered at the site Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the milestone of helping people with the giveaway for four years.
The organization wanted to highlight its commitment to try to prevent hunger in Ventura County. Unfortunately, the need for this weekly event isn’t expected to ease anytime soon.
