Well in the Desert halts Saturday food bank for 250 families as it leaves Palm Springs site slated for new fire station

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) Well in the Desert is moving out of its longtime home at 181 N. Indian Canyon Drive, and the nonprofit says its Saturday food bank serving 250 families will shut down starting Saturday because it has nowhere to distribute the food.

Board president Matt Naylor walked News Channel 3 through the building Wednesday for what he said was his last time inside. The city is acquiring the property as part of the site for a new fire station.

"The Well in the Desert has been kicked out of so many places that I look at this as just a stepping stone to a new location where we'll never be kicked out again," Naylor said.

The nonprofit has moved its food, including 12 refrigerators and freezers, to a space on Radio Road after a landlord there agreed to rent to the organization for storage, Naylor said. Three other property owners refused to rent to the Well for food storage alone, he said, even after the nonprofit offered to pay six months' rent in advance. One told him the rent would double if the Well moved in, he said.

"I've never seen anything like it," Naylor said. "I'm really shocked that we have that part of our community that, for a food bank, not allowing us to go and store food."

The Radio Road space is storage only and cannot accommodate the Saturday distribution, Naylor said, when families, many of whom have homes and vehicles, line up for groceries. Weekday meals for people experiencing homelessness will continue through partner churches and Oscar's Palm Springs, he said.

"That's a sad story that we won't be able to feed those families right now," Naylor said. He said he does not know how long the pause will last, and the Well will try to direct families to other food banks in the meantime.

"My phone rings off the hook for families looking for food," he said, estimating 15 to 20 calls a day. Naylor said more families have sought help after losing SNAP benefits.

As News Channel 3 previously reported, the property's owner, Grit Development, gave the Well notice to vacate this spring as the city moved to buy land at Andreas Road and North Indian Canyon Drive for a new Fire Station 1. The City Council approved a $4 million purchase in June.

Also in June, an anonymous donor gave the Well $1 million to launch a campaign for a permanent home, with a goal of raising a matching $1 million. Naylor said Wednesday the capital fund has grown since and the organization will soon share plans with the city and the public for a new property, with construction he hopes to begin late this year or early next. He did not say where.

"It's going to be incredible," Naylor said, describing "a space where the community can gather to help."

Naylor also pushed back on what he called a stigma tying the Well only to homelessness. The nonprofit, which he said has operated for 30 years, gives out bicycles and food to families facing food insecurity, not only people living on the street.

"Many thought that we would just leave or falter, but we're here for a reason, and that's to help our community, help our families," he said.

The organization said earlier this year it served nearly 98,000 meals in 2025 and supports more than 250 families a week through its food bank.