Nutrition
15 Years of Feeding San Diego
LOCAL FEEDING AMERICA AFFILIATE HAS DISTRIBUTED OVER 300 MILLION MEALS SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 2007
A lot has happened over 15 years of Feeding San Diego , but the mission of the hunger relief organization remains the same : to end hunger through food rescue . Founded by Gwendolyn Sontheim , Feeding San Diego ’ s first distribution was held on October 9 , 2007 in the parking lot at San Diego Rescue Mission . Several weeks later , San Diego County suffered from disastrous firestorms that displaced hundreds of thousands of individuals . In the first week of the fire with only two employees , Feeding San Diego secured and delivered 515,000 pounds of emergency supplies , including food , water and other grocery items , to evacuees , firefighters and volunteers . From the start , the organization has been ready to spring into action whatever the crisis may be , from wildfire to a global pandemic .
Now led by CEO Dan Shea , the hunger relief and food rescue organization has grown from two employees to over 65 and distributes an average of 40.3 million meals annually . Hunger was thrust into the forefront of public awareness during the pandemic and Feeding San Diego continues to support the many San Diegans affected by the after effects : the highest inflation of the past 40 years , record-high gas prices , global unrest and a volatile economy . With the incredible support of the community during the first year of the pandemic , the nonprofit is focused on meeting its ambitious goals .
This year , Feeding San Diego is dedicated to establishing and growing its new Produce Pantry Program to provide even more fresh produce to the community , expanding its School Pantry Program , which was upended by the pandemic , its food rescue program in response to Senate Bill 1383 , which mandates
PHOTO CREDIT : CARLY MATSUMOTO , VICTORIA PEARCE