FIND Food Bank outreach program serves thousands of local residents

Chet Hecht goes on a shopping trip each Monday for meat, produce and bread, but not to fill his own kitchen pantry. He’s stocking up on 4.5 tons of food at the FIND Food Bank in preparation for the weekly Neighbors 4 Neighbors program at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert. Each week, almost 1,000 people from around the valley benefit from their services.

A group of hearty volunteers makes it all possible, arriving early every Thursday morning to prepare for the program.

“We have shoppers. We have a clothing team. We have greeters. We have baggers. We have people to help folks to their cars. Fifty plus volunteers work this ministry,” said Hecht, outreach director for St. Margaret’s.

After saying a prayer, it’s time to serve.

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Fresh produce from the FIND food bank is delivered each week and separated into bags for distribution by the volunteers. St. Margaret’s also receives food from USDA to supplement their supplies, but the work doesn’t stop at stocking the community’s shelves. The Neighbors 4 Neighbors program gives those who need it access to volunteer case workers.

“People sometimes need shelter or personal hygiene products, or many of them just need to talk about what they’re feeling and what’s happened to them,” said parishioner Ian Campbell, who volunteers with Neighbors 4 Neighbors.

The FIND Food Bank says the location of this distribution in Palm Desert is important to note as well, given that the city typically does not hold a reputation for increased rates of poverty or lower income households. They say it’s important to recognize hunger as a widespread problem across the valley, no matter the city.

“It’s an area where it’s considered not a poor area,” said Joel Gonzalez, from the FIND Food Bank, “That’s why it’s so great it’s in this location. It breaks all stigma of what hunger looks like.”

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If you’re interested in attending one of the Neighbors 4 Neighbors distributions or any other FIND distributions, you can visit FIND Food Bank’s website.

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