Feeding San Diego, a non-profit organization that partners with farms and distribution centers to rescue food before it goes to waste, will be delivering food at 1912 Arnold Way in Alpine on May 4 and May 18 in an ongoing effort to provide for residents in need.
Alpine coordinator Karen Helms said people are welcome to begin lining up as early as 7 a.m. but volunteers will begin distributing food at 8:30.
“Everybody is welcome. People can also pick up food for friends or family who can’t make it,” Helms said they typically see between 100 and 190 visitors including some picking up for homebound individuals.
If there are more than five people in a family, she said, they will give them twice as much to get by and if they have food left over after distributing to everyone in line then they’ll continue to give more away.
“Before COVID, we’d get between 75 to 85 people but an increase came along right as people began masking during the pandemic. I tell everyone about it in case they need food, including everyone in my own apartment complex,” Helms, who picks up food for two neighbors said.
Although volunteers do not ask people for identifying information like their home address, Helms said they ask for a person’s initials and try to supply them with resource information on covering food insecurity.
“We have a lady that comes out from the office once a month to give out information from CalFresh and lets people know the food truck also goes to Descanso and Guatay for people who drive into Alpine,” Helms said.
When the opportunity presents itself, she also gathers household items like dish sets or outgrown clothing from donors and brings it to the food giveaway events for families who might be in need of some items.
“We have 17 volunteers, including myself. I started as a volunteer in 2011. When the coordinator moved out of state I stepped up. Since 2012, I’ve been the coordinator in Alpine and I can say the best thing is everybody smiles there. We have no issues with people in line, no complaints, everyone is friendly,” Helms said.
After wrapping up the giveaway, she said, they pick up in the area— even the apples people sometimes snack on in line are thrown away so there is “not even an apple core” left behind.
Between 2020 and 2021, Feeding San Diego rescued more than 70 percent of the food they provided to the community.
