The smell of fresh plums and potatoes filled the air. You could hear shuffling cardboard mixed with laughter and conversation around you – it was the best way to start the San Diego Foundation (SDF) team’s October morning for the fall team Volunteer Day.
Twice a year, SDF employees, along with teams from the San Diego Women’s Foundation, San Diego Housing Fund and the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center, gather for meaningful Volunteer Days in partnership with local nonprofits. This past Volunteer Day was hosted by Feeding San Diego
While the morning brought our team closer together, we were reminded of the greater issue at hand – food insecurity, a reality for many in our community.
Food Insecurity in San Diego
Hunger may not always be visible, but it affects countless individuals around us. In San Diego County, hundreds of thousands struggle with food insecurity.
According to Feeding America’s 2024 Map the Meal Gap report, more than 350,000 people in San Diego County experience food insecurity.
Feeding San Diego is committed to ending hunger by connecting every individual facing hunger with healthy, nutritious food and rescues edible, high-quality food that would otherwise go into a landfill.
Through the organization’s decentralized model, it can choose whether to keep food local or bring it to its distribution center. If it’s more efficient for one of its local partners to rescue the food directly, then Feeding San Diego coordinates pick up from the food donor by a community partner.
Through the SDF Community Food Grant Program, we support organizations like Feeding San Diego and networks that are directly informed by and accountable to the communities they serve. The program’s initiatives encompass all efforts to grow, raise, harvest, forage, and process food, as well as distribute these products to ensure they reach those in need.
During our two hours of service, our team came together to glean plums and bag potatoes, working as one to collect 6,735 lbs of produce. This effort will help provide food for 1,683 households across San Diego County.
This day’s success reinforces the importance of volunteering, not only for the individuals we serve but also for strengthening our commitment to community solutions. Our team’s work that day aligns with the Foundation’s overarching goals and Strategic Plan and vision for just, equitable and resilient communities.
