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Second Harvest Schedules Next Grocery Distribution
second harvest
Although you may not be able to see the smiles on their faces, you can see it in their eyes as volunteers open boxes of juice to pass out during a Second Harvest Food Bank Mobile Fresh food distribution in Riverbank. Photo Contributed

Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties is working to provide emergency relief to families living in the community of Riverbank. Mobile Fresh has been a once a month staple in the quiet community for the past year. In partnership with the St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church community members are able to receive free groceries that consist of a combination of shelf stable, fresh items and produce.

Mobile Fresh Program provides much needed groceries during the current COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Second Harvest’s Mobile Pantry is an innovative way to reach participants where they live with fresh food options. Program officials purposely look for locations where access to food, especially fresh food is limited so that we can make a positive impact on those communities.

“As a longtime Riverbank resident, I have the privilege of knowing firsthand the exemplary work all the staff and volunteers of Second Harvest put forth daily to help feed our community,” stated CEO Keenon J. Krick. “At Second Harvest we pride ourselves with providing hope through feeding people in times of need. We are grateful as an organization to be providing services in Riverbank and look forward to fighting hunger in the community well into the future.”

The next distribution in Riverbank will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to10 a.m. for those in need of food assistance and then on Oct. 21, Nov. 18, and Dec. 16 in the parking lot at St. Frances with the drive thru delivery.

For more information on how to receive food or get involved with Second Harvest Food Bank visit the website at www.localfoodbank.org or contact Second Harvest Director of Development Jessica Vaughan at 209-239-2091. Second Harvest Food Bank is at 1220 Vanderbilt Circle in Manteca.

With the rapid onset of the pandemic, Second Harvest has seen higher numbers than normal as families, seniors, and individuals are feeling the strain of higher grocery prices, joblessness, and everyday expenses. Second Harvest has had to quickly reconfigure the mobile program from a walk up distribution to a drive thru.

“We needed this program to continue operating in the community because it allows us to serve large groups of people at a time,” expressed Vaughan. “Drive thru was the only way that we could ensure the safety of the staff, participants and volunteers.”

On distribution days, groceries are placed either in trunks or backseats of vehicles by masked and gloved volunteers. Since March the Mobile Fresh program has given away more than 52,000 pounds of food in Riverbank with each grocery bag averaging about 35 pounds. Programs like Mobile Fresh are made possible by grant funding through organizations like Nourishing Neighbors and corporate partners like Starbucks, SaveMart, and General Mills.