In this challenging time of mass deportations, the South Bay Food Pantry is helping our neighbors and friends understand their rights as treasured members of our community.  Social Justice Coordinator Valeria Aguilar and UU congregant Nina Douglass handed out flyers and wallet cards from immigration rights advocates  including the ACLU and helped answer questions and concerns. While the mission of the Food Pantry is to feed hungry San Diegans, our real objective is to care for our whole community. 

This holiday season, help support families by donating new, unwrapped blankets and toys. We recommend blankets sized 60" x 80" or larger.  You can also explore our Amazon wish list. Items purchased through there will be sent to our Hillcrest campus: loom.ly/WTK7OP4. Drop off at the Hillcrest or South Bay campuses. Donation deadline is December 18, with distribution on December 21. There are volunteer opportunities! Contact [email protected] if you are interested in helping with the drive or the food pantry.
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Click on the flyer to see a bigger version! ​

by Rhea Kuhlman, South Bay Food Pantry Volunteer.
At the South Bay Food Pantry, we never know until the last minute what kinds of fresh produce we’ll receive from the San Diego Food Bank and Feeding San Diego, or how much meat or bread will be available for our families on Saturday.  But one thing we can always be sure of is that the bags of shelf stable goods the mid-week baggers put together every week will contain good healthy food that can keep a family going, regardless of what else is available.  The SBFB always keeps on hand stores of non-perishable items to supplement the fresh and frozen items we distribute each Saturday

By Nina Douglass, South Bay Food Pantry Volunteer
The parking lot of 907 Broadway is like that of any other Chula Vista strip mall on weekdays.  On Saturdays, however, the lot is transformed by hundreds of South Bay Food Pantry volunteers and clients.  Volunteers arrive by 8am to receive and stage hundreds of pounds of canned and other dry goods, fresh produce and Starbucks bakery items from the big Feeding San Diego truck. By then, many pantry guests are already waiting for the 9am distribution of numbers which serve to organize the line-up for the 11am - 12:30pm food distribution.  The few trees at the site provide welcome shade for people waiting to collect their food.

by Nina Douglass, South Bay Food Pantry Volunteer
When asked what inspired her to found the South Bay Food Pantry, FUUSD member Maureen McNair has recalled noticing signs of insufficient access to nutritious food among the elementary school children she taught in that neighborhood.  Maureen’s recognition that chronic food insecurity in the South Bay is pervasive led her to address the problem through the creation of the pantry.