Feeding San Diego, the county’s leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from The Vertex Foundation. The funds will support the nonprofit’s school pantry and mobile pantry programs, helping to break the cycle of food insecurity for youth, families, and seniors in San Diego County by providing nutritious meals at no cost.
The grant supports the longstanding School Pantry Program, which is Feeding San Diego’s largest hunger-relief program for children. The program provides nutritious food to children, youth and their families at no cost onsite at local schools.
The School Pantry Program operates throughout San Diego County in partnership with 13 school districts. School pantries are run at Title 1 elementary, middle and high schools across districts located in U.S. Census Bureau-designated low-moderate income tracks where a high percentage of students come from low-income families and have a high incidence of health risk and low access to food assistance.
Funds will also support the Mobile Pantry Program, which serves predominantly rural areas of San Diego County. The Mobile Pantry Program provides food to underserved neighborhoods at about 16 sites around the county. The pantry operation reaches communities with a significant number of low-income families who lack consistent access to full-service grocery stores or other sources of fresh, healthy food.
“Many of our donors want to focus their support on childhood hunger, and for good reason. Hunger impacts academic achievement, cognitive and physical development, health and well-being, and social and behavioral response in children,” said Ali Colbran, director of development at Feeding San Diego.
The Vertex Foundation seeks to improve the lives of people with serious diseases and contribute to the communities where Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX: NASDAQ) is located through education, innovation and health. The grants awarded fall within three focus areas: STEAM education, social innovation and healthy families.
“We seek to improve the lives of people in our communities through education, innovation, and health programs,” says Sabine Hadida, a member of the Vertex Foundation board. “We’re giving this grant to Feeding San Diego to support the mobile pantry and the school pantry programs.
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The Delphinium Foundation, a San Diego-based philanthropic organization, along with Mark Schmidt and Randy Williams, real estate developers and philanthropists, announced $425,000 of cumulative donations to Father Joe’s Villages in the past four years. Demonstrating a commitment to ending homelessness in San Diego, the majority of the $425,000 donations were part of the capital campaign for the building of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Villa, an affordable housing community by Father Joe’s Villages.
Philanthropist Schmidt said: “We believe wholeheartedly in the mission of Father Joe’s Villages, and are happy to play our role in helping to give our neighbors a brighter future. We hope that everyone who comes through the doors of the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Villa will find new opportunities and a better life.”
