Volunteers are packing boxes full of fresh produce at the Food Share warehouse in Ventura. The room smells crisp as mangos, celery, spring onions and cucumbers are among the goods being boxed up for distribution in the county.
"We have a variety of produce every week," explains Diane Hubbard, one of the volunteers.
She says she volunteered here because she was aware of the need in the county.
"I was a probation officer for 40 years, so I was well aware of the need in the area for this kind of project and to help people lead a decent life," said Hubbard.
Food Share of Ventura County serviced 267,000 people last year. The demand is greater than ever, with triple the number seen by the non-profit before COVID.
"Wouldn't we love to be able to say that since COVID's over, hunger is over as well," says Monica White, the President and CEO of Food Share Ventura County. "That is so far from the truth. We actually are seeing three times as many people as we did pre-COVID. 1 in 4 in Ventura County are considered food insecure, meaning that they do not have access to fresh, nutritious food every single day."
Volunteer Dave is helping to organize the donations of food – making sure they are not expired past their dates and can be distributed.
"We have food drives throughout the year and then when it comes in, we sort it as to see if it's up to date and then we put it in boxes that match. So condiments would go with condiments. Beans would go with beans," he explains.
Some of the food here at their headquarters is donated, but much of it is also purchased, explains White. So, just like those they serve, Food Share’s own expenses have been impacted by the rise in the cost of food.
"As a food bank who purchases $2.5 million worth of food every year, the cost of food definitely has impacted us. It just means that our dollar is going even less. Just like someone who's buying food at the grocery store, even though we're buying it in bulk. We still are getting a little bit less for our dollar," said White.
"The need has gone up. We're still buying just as much food. This is why the holiday season is so important to us. So every dollar, every canned food drive, every food drive, all of those are really important to us," said White.
And – she says – so much of the food insecurity and hunger in the county is hidden.
"People assume that we serve only the unhoused, which is untrue. We ARE serving the unhoused. But there's 2500 unhoused in Ventura County and we serve 267,000 people. So while it's a very important group of people, really the people that we are serving are working families. It's seniors, it's veterans, it's children. It is a lot of people who are working 1 or 2 jobs already, and it's just not enough to be able to make ends meet," said White.
"If you don't have to think about what is in your refrigerator, your pantry, give to those who are struggling with that," she said.
And – her philosophy is that building a healthy community benefits the whole community.
