food bank

San Diego Area Readers: Donate Canned goods receive a free facial or massage!

Abby H.

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Firefly Wellness is having our seventh annual holiday food drive to support the San Diego Food Bank. Items can be dropped off  through December 20th at their location in North Park.

Screen Shot 2017-11-11 at 8.44.59 PM.pngThe best part of this offer is that not only are you helping others with your food bank donation, but when you donate ten or more food items off at Firefly Wellness, you’ll receive a certificate for a free 30-minute massage or facial. You can use it yourself or give it as a gift.

I know most Frugalistas have at least ten extra (and unexpired) items in their cupboard they could part with. If you are unsure what kind of items to donate, here are items that the food bank always needs:

  • Canned Meats
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Canned Fruits
  • Canned Soup
  • Peanut Butter
  • Cereal & Oatmeal
  • Rice & Pasta
  • Powdered Milk, beverage mixes (like shelf stable juice concentrate, instant coffee, hot cocoa pouches)
  • Infant Formula (The sample sized canisters or sample pouches that you may have received free in the mail are perfect donations!)

(if you are looking for coupons to help you shop for donation, check out the coupons here)

Food Drive Information:
 
When: Now through Dec 20, 2017
Where: Firefly Wellness
How: Drop off items on your next visit, or call 619.249.4323 to schedule a drop-off or pick up or your items.
BONUS: Receive a THANK YOU GIFT CERTIFICATE when you donate ten or more items.  (Limit one per person.)
Please comment if you will be taking advantage of this great deal (and what you’ll be donating). I’ll be donating Oatmeal and Peanut Butter among other things.

In Need? Food Resources in Central and Eastern San Diego

Abby H.6 Comments

DSCN2469Updated: January 2023

With inflation skyrocketing, more of us need help feeding our families nutritious foods. Luckily in San Diego, there are plenty of programs and organizations that can help.

In large metropolitan areas like San Diego County, there are many resources for those who have food insecurity. Some of them require proof of need, proof of residence, or extensive paperwork to qualify. For someone who is embarrassed by food insecurity, these requirements can be a deterrent. Other organizations put a cap on how many times a family can visit.

Here are a few local Central and East San Diego County Area organizations that offer food assistance that do not require any proof of need.

Central San Diego County

Screen Shot 2017-06-01 at 8.09.41 AMThe Cupboard on 54th. Located at Calvary Lutheran Church 3060 54th Street, San Diego, CA 92115.  They are open 3 times a week.

You can get dry goods one time per month and a produce bag is available each day they are open (for a total of three times a week).

This is located at the same location as a free clothing closet. They have clothes for men women and children, as well as shoes and accessories.

Christ Ministry Center 3295 Meade Ave San Diego, CA 92116 has a food bank three days a week. Hours: Mondays 1-3pm, Wednesdays 10am-Noon and 1-3pm, Fridays 10am-Noon and 1-3pm. Park in the rear lot and look for the Good Neighbor Center Food Bank sign. They also have other services for those in need. Check out their website for more information.

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank has neighborhood distribution sites all over San Diego throughout the month. Each time and location is different, but you can expect to go home with a lot of fresh produce! There are no requirements or proof of need (no ID either).  Just bring a few reusable bags or a cart to carry your food home.

East County:

Journey Church in La Mesa has a food bank that distributes food three times per month.

  • 1st Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm
  • 2nd Friday of the month – produce only – at 9 am
  • 3rd Saturday of the month from 8:30 am

unnamed.jpgFaith Chapel in Spring Valley has a great event once a month called Meet the Need. It is on the 1st Sunday of each month.

There is a free lunch starting at 1pm with some fellowship (a great way to meet your neighbors), followed by shopping in their boutique for free clothing and household items, and you will go home with a bag (or two) of free, healthy groceries.

Similarly, Pastor Josiah and his crew have been doing weekly food distributions- Visit their website (address below) and get on their email list to learn more and find out when the next distribution will be- or subscribe to my blog- I post about their distributions in advance!

You can learn more by visiting or contacting Faith Chapel here.  Pastor Josiah and his crew are wonderful people!

For residents of the City of Santee, the Santee Food Bank is available to you once a month. Proof of Santee Residency (like a utility bill) is required, and ID for everyone in the household (ID cards, drivers licenses, school ids, health insurance cards). The Santee Food Bank is open for regular distributions 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. every Wednesday and Friday, as well as the first and third Saturday of each month.

The Santee Food Bank also hosts USDA Commodities twice a month. Commodities are available to anyone, regardless of where you live. They are healthy food staples, and frequently consist of Meat, rice, pasta, canned veggies and fruit, cereal, milk, and bread. Items change each time, but there are always lots of healthy options. Commodities hours are the third Tuesday from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Feeding American San Diego has a map on their website of various resources in the San Diego area, many of them require no proof of need or paperwork.

If you are located in Northern San Diego County, here is a post that has options and locations for you.

While not strictly free, Porchlight Community Services (which I wrote about here) frequently has free food distributions. Check their website, or follow them on Facebook for updates and events. 

If you have any food resources to share, please leave a comment!

Backyard Fruit: Helping Others!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADriving around much of Southern California, there is one constant: Backyard fruit trees DRIPPING with unpicked fruit, and even more trees with piles of dropped and rotting fruit under the trees. That really makes me upset. WHY?

There are 16 million hungry kids in the US. I heard a statistic on the radio the other day that 1 in 4 kids in the US don’t have access to fresh fruits and veggies! If you have backyard fruit trees or gardens that are out of control with more produce that you and your family can eat, here are a few ways you can help others in need:

  • Contact your local church and see if they offer a food pantry. If so, take a box of produce from your trees/garden over to share with those in need.
  • Contact your local food bank and see if they accept home grown fruit. Some do, some do not.
  • There are several organizations across the US that will come to you, pick your fruit and donate it. Food Forward, Village Harvest are just two.
  • There are websites where you can register your trees and share your produce with others. Falling Fruit is just one.
  • Post on your local freecycle or buy nothing project group. I know around here there are many neighbors who would love to help you pick and eat your fruit.  Recently there was an older lady who had fruit trees and she couldn’t keep up with the harvesting, so she was looking for someone who could help her pick fruit. They were welcome to take as much as they could eat, as long as they picked 2 lbs of fruit for her. That sounds like a great deal to me!
  • Here is a crazy idea- Offer some to your friends and neighbors!