SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – San Diego-based non-profits are stepping up to help federal workers who are impacted by the federal government shutdown.
At the San Diego Food Bank, boxes are being stacked up on pallets, row by row, into a truck from Jewish Family Service.
“We want to make sure we're providing a well-balanced diet,” Casey Castillo, CEO of San Diego Food Bank, said. “We're concerned about the thousands of federal workers and service members that may go without a paycheck. We jumped in and wanted to make sure we're ready to respond.”
That truck carried four thousand pounds of food for those in need.
“We'll be providing fruits and vegetables, shelf-stable commodities, and proteins,” Castillo said.
The end of the truck’s trip is Jewish Family Service’s campus in Kearny Mesa.
“We jumped in and decided to open up our drive-through food distribution,” Tom Stewart, the Vice President of Strategic Integration of Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said. “We're going to be doing this distribution every Wednesday until the shutdown ends, and we estimate that we can serve in that two hours about 100 households.”
The drive-thru will be every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“We're partnering with the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank. They're helping us source extra food to beef up what we'll be able to provide. We will be shooting for like 35-to-40-pound packages of food,” Stewart said.
These 40 pounds of food can provide more than just a full fridge and pantry, but also clear out some stress people are going through.
“They can free up some of their cash, be it to go to rent, put gas in the car to take their kids to school, after-school activities, all of those things, medical bills. We don't want people to have to worry about food,” Stewart said.
“And really come through during an emergency for these families,” Castillo said.
Those looking to help out and volunteer at JFS, please visit JFSSD.org/volunteer. If you would like to make a monetary donation to support shutdown support efforts, visit JFSSD.org/shutdownsupport.
