FIND Food Bank takes food to where it’s needed most

For some people in the valley who are food insecure, they sometimes don’t have the time or the transportation to get to the FIND Food Bank in Indio to get the help they need.

That’s why FIND is now taking food to where its needed most.

FIND recently held a food outreach at an elementary school in Salton City.

Students at Seaview Elementary School in Salton City lined up to receive free food, brought to the school by the food bank.

“Its amazing just to see the smiles on the kids, and them being happy to receive fruits and vegetables,” said Veronica Garcia, a Northshore resident who has worked for the FIND Food Bank for the past four years.

Having grown up in a disadvantaged household herself, and now serving FIND clients throughout the east valley, she is well aware of the need many families have for food assistance.

“There are so many people in need, and what we are trying to do is reach the people the people who can’t come out to us.. or go to a distribution site,” said Garcia.

During the food outreach, more than 500 children in kindergarten through fourth grade had their empty sacks filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, eggs, and other healthy staples.

This was the third FIND Food Bank giveaway at the campus.

“Being able to provide this kind of service for our families is an incredible privilege,” said Seaview Elementary School Principal Dr. Timothy Steele.

About one third of the families that live in the area live at or below the poverty line, so it is events like the food outreach that play a key role in keeping people fed and healthy.

For the outreach at the school, about a dozen volunteers joined a handful of full time FIND employees in handing out food to the children to take home to share with their parents and families.

FIND representatives tell us 90 thousand people line up monthly at various locations around the valley for food giveaways.

“We come out here as an outreach and we see that need, and a lot of people don’t see it as we do, because we’re in the middle of it,” said Garcia.

Those who handed out the food seemed to enjoy the outreach just as much as those who received the donations.

“We love doing this, and we love our job, and we love meeting the need,” said Garcia.