Community FoodBank of San Benito

INTRODUCTION

We opened our doors in 1989 to serve 35 families as the Community Pantry. Today, as Community FoodBank, we provide supplemental food to nearly 6,000 residents of our county each month.  We engage our community in other ways too, including nutrition programs and advocacy. 

GREETINGS

How does that saying go “if you haven’t seen Community FoodBank lately, you haven’t seen Community FoodBank”?  

We transformed our newly purchased building from an aging, shabby warehouse to a modern, energy efficient showcase, all without incurring any debt. Every interior wall was modified, if not demolished.  The reception area is now welcoming and comfortable, complete with a colorful tile art display.  The office space is completely reconfigured to accommodate more staff with an open organizational concept.  The scary stairs up to the attic loft were replaced leading to a finished second floor office and conference center.  But more than any of that, the warehouse space where we used to hand out food is totally transformed to an inviting marketplace where customers can shop for healthy food choices just like a neighborhood corner market.  Produce bins have replaced pallets, shopping baskets have replaced industrial carts, hand-crafted display shelves have replaced folding tables, and free-flowing conversation of shoppers has replaced waiting lines.  Best of all, human value and dignity have replaced insignificance and shame. 

As incredible as the renovated building looks and feels, it doesn’t compare to the overwhelming support we received from our community.  At every turn of the project, someone came forward to generously offer office space, storage, equipment, furnishings, expertise, craftsmanship, prayers, moral support and finances.  And it is because of this tremendous support that we were able to seamlessly continue to provide fresh groceries to our customers, albeit from the far corner of the building, throughout the six months of the project.  We truly could not have accomplished this transformative project without all our friends and neighbors championing the cause. 

Through our partnership with the City of Hollister, we have applied for funding to purchase and operate a first ever mobile pantry in town. The mobile pantry would stop at underserved corners of our city to offer fresh grocery options to our neighbors who have barriers to visiting the food bank in person.  In addition, the pantry program will provide healthy recipe cards that coincide with the products offered each week.  We want to make a positive impact on the health of our residents and we believe that eating healthy foods is a critical component of overall good health.  As Hippocrates, the father of medicine said over 2,000 years ago, “Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.”

Maria Lynn Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Community FoodBank

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