San Diego Coalition for the Homeless

Stamp Out Hunger 2011

For the last four years, Feeding America San Diego has granted the Coalition and the Church of the Nazarene in Mid-City the privilege of being recipients of food collected by mail carriers at the Lexington Post Office in El Cajon. Terri Perez is a mail carrier but also has been in charge of logistics about the food collection and disbursement. Food collected has been shared by the Coalition and the Church. Food at our outreach location in the basement of the Church is distributed from our pantry Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Available food from the local food banks has been scarce due to our economic downturn. The food drives from the post offices have kept us with enough good food for the needy for at least two months. Last year, 13,000 pounds was collected and it was shared 50-50 with the Church.

Times are still tough in the United States. For the people who come to our doors for emergency food for themselves and their families, being needy has become desperation.

As we waited for the first trucks to come in for unloading, there were worried conversations about what we might expect because of the local economy. However, the caution was overridden by less conservative volunteer hopefuls who exploded with disbelief! "It looks like double what we got last year!" The conservatives among us (namely me) said "Well, we'll know for sure when the last truck pulls in"

The last truck pulled in. Shouts from our tireless volunteers shouted: "TRUCK" Unloading the small mail truck was reminiscent to me when I was a kid at the circus. A tiny vehicle looking like a VW, was in the ring and about 30 clowns kept piling out of it. This was the way it was with the last truck. Two large wheeled carts took the food to be weighed.