SOME LUTHERAN-AFFILIATED FOOD BANKS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

SAN DIEGO

Project Hand- LSSSC LOCATION

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

580 Hilltop Dr. Chula Vista, CA 91910 (619) 425-4061 https://www.stmarkschulavista.org/community/project-hand/

Mon, Wed, Fri – 9 a.m.– 2:00 p.m.

Tue, Thu – 11 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Hot Lunch Every Thursday Noon-2:00 p.m.

2nd Friday of the Month – Drive Thru Food Bank

2nd Tuesday of the Month – Drive Thru Food Bank for Seniors

Trinity Lutheran Church

7210 Lisbon Street

San Diego, CA 92114 (619) 262-1605 https://www.tlcsd.org/

Tue, Thu – 9 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

VENTURA COUNTY

Lutheran Social Services of Southern California - LSSSC LOCATION

80 E. Hillcrest Dr., #101

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (805) 497-6207 https://www.lsssc.org/location/ventura-county/

Food, clothing, showers, laundry & mail services

Walk-in Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and 1:30-4:30 p.m. by appointment

Housing counseling and placement services also available.

Ascension Lutheran Church

1600 East Hillcrest Drive

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 (805) 495-0406 https://alcto.org/food-pantry/

Every Friday 10 a.m.-Noon

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Lutheran Social Services- LSSSC LOCATION

Trinity Lutheran Church 4162 Rubidoux Ave. Riverside, CA 92506 (951) 689-7847 https://www.lsssc.org/location/riverside-county/

Food Pantry Weds, Thursday 10 a.m.-Noon, 12:30 –2:00 p.m.

Valley Community Pantry

Trinity Lutheran Hemet 191 Columbia St. Hemet, CA 92544 (951) 929-1101 www.ValleyCommunityPantry.org | https://vcpcares.org/ Mon-Thu 9:30 a.m.-Noon. Must arrive by 11:30 a.m. Fri 9:30 a.m. - Noon for new clients only. Must arrive by 11:30 a.m.

Closed on Major Holidays

Emergency shelter, rent and utility assistance are sometimes available.

St. John’s Lutheran Church

42695 Washington St. Palm Desert, CA 92211 (760) 345-2122 https://stjohnslutheran.church/ministries/community-outreach

Food distribution, 3rd Saturdays at 7 a.m.

LONG BEACH/SOUTH BAY

Lutheran Social Services- LSSSC LOCATION

1611 Pine Ave.

Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 599-1321 https://www.lsssc.org/location/south-bay-long-beach/

Food Pantry Hours Mon, Tues, Thurs. 10 a.m.-Noon. Weds. 11 a.m.-Noon, 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Iglesia Luterana Pueblo de Dios

804 E Rosecrans Ave. Compton, CA 90221 (424) 403-4045 / 310-819-0706 https://pueblodedioslutheranchurch.com/ https://newcityparish.com/food-outreach-program-

Bagged Groceries Distributed Every Thursdays at 9 a.m. Tickets are distributed Wednesday before each distribution day. Tickets guarantee recipients a bag the following day.

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

Central Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Central 6425 Tyrone Ave Van Nuys, CA 91401 (818) 785-5414 https://centrallutheranvn.spruz.net/mobile-food-pantry.htm

Each Monday from 1-3:00 p.m.

Must Bring a Cart or Wagon for the food received.

First Lutheran Church

6952 Van Nuys Blvd.

Van Nuys, CA 91405 (818) 989-5844 https://www.flvn.org/

Food distribution Sat, Sun & Weds – 6 p.m.

Free breakfast Sat 9 a.m., Except 3rd Saturday of the month.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Central City Lutheran Mission- LSSSC LOCATION

1354 North G Street San Bernardino, CA 92405 (909) 381-6921 https://www.lsssc.org/location/san-bernardino-county/

First Lutheran Church of Redlands

1207 West Cypress Avenue Redlands, CA 92373 (909) 793-2267 http://www.firstlutheranredlands.org/serve.html

Youth Hope Meals delivered to homeless teens 4th Thu and 5th Wed

ORANGE COUNTY

First Lutheran Church Fullerton- LSSSC LOCATION Caring Hands Ministries 215 N. Lemon Street Fullerton, CA 92832 (714) 871-7820 https://www.flcfullerton.com/

Food Pantry Weds, 9 a.m.-Noon

Hot To-go Meals Every 3rd Tues 4-7:00 p.m.

Hope Lutheran Church

13841 Milton Ave, Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 895-3838 https://www.hopelutheranchurch.us/events/food-pantry/ Every Friday 9 a.m. experiences when moving between counties that can create some barriers to quick food access.

High costs of fuel and lack of public transportation in some areas of Southern California can also be an issue when accessing free food resources. Families who do have cars can be faced with inequities of filling up their cars with say $20 of gas to pick up $20 worth of free food. And those who use public transportation may only be able to carry home one bag of light groceries that may not meet all the families need for the week.

Faith based organizations like Lutheran Social Services of Southern California are constantly developing unique ways to meet the ever-increasing need. LSSSC is currently working towards raising funds to fund a Farm Truck which will be a refrigerated unit that is just 16 feet long filled with fresh produce. The sides of the vehicle can literally “pop out” to display free fruits and vegetables. “This can be driven to our classic food pantry sites or along with our mobile wellness units that go out into communities offering social services like housing counseling, case management and more,” says grant writer for the project Ruby Ma. “We, of course, welcome a corporation, philanthropist or a church to come along side and fund worthy projects like these that fight food insecurity at the street level”.

Another project that Ma is an advocate for is the Compassion Pantry hosted by The Dwelling Place Church in Anaheim Hills. Stocked with in-kind donations from major markets and food produce that is often “rescued”, this innovative church has set up a model for dignified food pantry shopping. They have used thousands of square feet of their church building to set up their pantry to look like a high-end grocery store. Community members who come to get food receive a dignified “shopping” experience complete with the creation of a shopping list and use of a shopping cart. The “customers” work with volunteers to make a plan so they receive just what their family needs. The food is healthy and nutritious and has butcher area, frozen foods section, bakery and produce isles.

While you and church may not have a place to take on a large-scale project, you can be creative in how you fight hunger. “Sometimes as Christians we are more than happy to give a package of Top Ramen or an old can of this or that to a food pantry. I believe that each of us is called to do better. We should be giving our neighbors in need the best and most nutritious items in our cupboards. Things that we like, eat, and feed our own families,” said a recent volunteer at an LSSSC food pantry who wished to remain anonymous”.

“In one of Jesus’s many parables from the Bible, He shared with others that I was hungry, and you did not feed me…. when you do this unto the least of these you do it unto me. I think if we literally can picture ourselves donating food and resources straight to Jesus, the quality and frequency of what we share will go up tenfold and the looming sense of food insecurity will go down for many people. I want them to know there are real people behind what they receive that they can count on for the long haul” the volunteer concluded.

This September is Hunger Action Month. Here’s just six things you can do to fight hunger.

1. Host a Food Drive or Volunteer

Host a food drive at your work or office and donate the food to one of LSSSC’s food pantry programs like Project Hand in Chula Vista. We have onsite food pantries in Riverside, Long Beach and our Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino. Ask about volunteering.

2. Wear Orange Orange is the color of hunger awareness. Don’t have any orange clothing? Make a donation to or write to LSSSC’s development donation to receive a free orange lapel ribbon.

3. Support A Food Bank At Your Local Church

80% of churches offer some type of hunger support in their communities. Why not support them in their efforts? Don’t have a church? We have listed a few in each county in this magazine.

4. Become an Advocate

Speaking your mind about policies related to food is a great way to get involved to create change.

5. Talk With Your Family and Friends About Hunger

Did you know 43% of food waste occurs at home? What are ways you can reduce our food waste? Did you know that if we recovered half of the food wasted in the US, we could feed everyone three meals per day, every day?

6. Share Social Media During Hunger Action Month

Tell others about the fight to end hunger using the hashtags #HungerActionMonth and #EndHungerNow. Check out LSSSC’s suggested LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram posts on our pages during September.