FIND Food Bank steps up to the plate for students and seniors
Student leaders at Sea View Elementary School in Salton City hand out food to their peers for a monthly farmers market with FIND Food Bank. Students, regardless of need, are lined up and pick out nutritious food to take home with them at no cost to their families.
“Nutrition is supposed to feed our bodies so that we can grow our bodies and our minds to have the best cognitive ability; the best physical ability possible,” said Dr. Timothy Steele, principal at Sea View Elementary School. “When you live in poverty, that’s not happening.”
Follow the live donation updates for the FIND Food Bank Telethon here
80% of children qualify for free and reduced-price meals across Coachella Valley school districts, but at Sea View Elementary School, it’s 100%. Those numbers go beyond the classroom and are only a glimpse at the need of the nearly 500 families who benefit from FIND Food Bank’s distributions at the school. Itxel is one of those students who looks forward to bringing home food for her family.
“What makes this fun is that students get to come here and go home and feel proud of what they brought home by showing their parents or their families their food that they got from the food bank,” said Itxel, sixth-grader at Sea View Elementary School.
“That realization that these kids have that they get to contribute and bring something home that is meaningful to the entire family–that’s huge,” said Steele.
Seniors in the valley face different emotions when it comes to food scarcity, but volunteers at The Joslyn Center say there’s no shame in visiting their pantry, stocked entirely with food from FIND. 21% of those served by FIND’s network each month are seniors living on fixed incomes.
“Sometimes there’s not enough money to pay the bills, and pay their rent, and buy the groceries,” said Bob Elias, director of social services at The Joslyn Center.
Eating less nutritious food can result in further health risks for seniors, but those who take advantage of the free food save their wallets and do it with dignity.
“They [seniors] don’t have to live in fear of where their next meal is coming from,” said volunteer Sheila Weldon.
Elias says the 10-year partnership with FIND has been a gift for seniors and those in need.
“We would be lost without FIND Food Bank’s assistance. Not only are they very helpful, they’re very friendly, and we can order online and then pick it up, so they’ve got a great system there for us to supply people, seniors and low income, with food for their diet,” said Elias.
You have a chance to step up to the plate for FIND Food Bank. Watch CBS Local 2 on April 6 from 5 to 11 p.m. for our annual telethon, where you can pledge your donation to help provide food for those in need around the valley, and if you are interested in attending a food distribution, you can find details here .
Tune in to CBS Local 2 tonight at 5:30 for Kelley’s Moody’s full story.
