Searching for food banks near you to make a donation? We’ve featured 10 top food banks in San Diego County below!
1. Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry
Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry (also known as Ocean Beach Emergency Food Inc) opened in San Diego in 1977. Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, they distribute emergency food boxes consisting of non-perishable foods, breads, and socks to those in need from the Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Midway District, and Morena areas of San Diego.
The long-running success of Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry comes from its volunteers and community support. If you’d like to help by donating either food or money, you can do so by completing the forms here. If you’d like to help by volunteering at the pantry, you can do so by completing the registration form here. If you’d like to know how to receive food or have any other questions, contact them here.
2. Serra Mesa Food Pantry
In 2010, the Serra Mesa Community Council opened the Serra Mesa Food Pantry to provide emergency food to Serra Mesa residents suffering from food insecurity due to temporary crises. Every Wednesday, they provide non-perishable items as well as fresh produce grown in the local community garden.
You can donate money to the pantry by donating directly to the council, or drop off food and other needed items whenever the pantry is open. To find out how to volunteer at the pantry or for any other information, contact the pantry by phone, email, or their social media page.
3. Tricity Pantry
The Tricity Pantry of Vista, CA, distributes food throughout the Bonsall, Vista, and Oceanside communities each week. To find out where they’ll be this week, you can check their events page. Each distribution site has a farmers’ market-style set up where those who have pre-registered can collect their own foods as part of their designated food bags.
Because Tricity Pantry works all over the Bonsall, Vista, and Oceanside areas, they are always in need of donations and volunteers. To find out how to receive assistance or to make a donation of food or other needed items, contact them online or through their social media pages.
4. Crosspointe Life Church
In La Mesa, Crosspointe Life Church offers free food distribution twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Eligible participants can visit once a week to receive a prepackaged box of non-perishable food items intended to help last them through to the following week.
You can help support Crosspointe Life Church’s food pantry by donating to the church’s general fund or volunteering to help package and distribute food. You can find out other ways of supporting their mission, or the answers to any other questions you may have, by calling them on the phone number provided on their website.
5. Brother Benno Foundation
Harold and Kay Kutler started the Brother Benno Foundation in Oceanside as a soup kitchen in 1983. After moving to a larger facility in 1991, they began providing free food to seniors, disabled, and families with children living in Oceanside and suffering from food insecurity and low incomes. These emergency food boxes consist of three to four days’ worth of non-perishable items such as canned food, dried goods, and breads.
You can help the Brother Benno Foundation’s food distribution services by donating money or shopping at their thrift store. You can also help by volunteering to collect food from local stores or sorting the food for distribution. You can contact the Foundation using the information at the top of their webpage to find out more, including how to sign up to receive food relief.
6. Bethlehem Food Pantry
In El Cajon, the Foothills United Methodist Church runs the Bethlehem Food Pantry every Saturday morning to supply needed food to those in El Cajon suffering food insecurity. Food boxes are prepared with non-perishables and pantry staples, such as peanut butter, canned foods, dried pasta, cereals, and other breads.
To support the food pantry, you can donate to the church in the name of the pantry or contact them by email to find out how to donate food or volunteer to help.
7. Community Christian Service Agency
The Community Christian Service Agency operates two food distribution centers in San Diego: the Clairemont Service Center and the Pacific Beach Center. Those San Diego County families and individuals in need of emergency food services can receive up to one week’s worth of food at the Clairemont Service Center while homeless individuals can receive one free meal each week at the Pacific Beach Center.
You can help support these food services by donating money or food for distribution. Contact them online if you want to find out how to volunteer or for any other information.
8. Heaven’s Windows
Since 2009, Heaven’s Windows in Spring Valley has been providing low-income residents of San Diego County with food and skills-building assistance. As a redistribution warehouse hub of Feeding San Diego, Heaven’s Windows has access to a wide range of food for those in need, which they distribute at their own food pantry four days a week to those referred to them by local services. They also run an open community food distribution day every 4th Tuesday morning at the New Seasons Church in Spring Valley.
You can help by signing up to volunteer through Hands On San Diego or donating money directly via PayPal. Contact them for any other questions or to find out more about their monthly community food days.
9. Lived Experiences
Oscarin Ortega started Lived Experiences in Oceanside to help local youth overcome difficult circumstances, both in their homes and on the streets of San Diego. Lived Experiences hosts three separate food distribution events each week: on Wednesday evenings, you can find them at Libby Lake and on Thursday evenings, you can find them in Crown Heights and Eastside Capistrano. Visitors must bring their own bag, but these events are run as a farmer’s market-style distribution service, where the visitors get to choose their own foods rather than be given a pre-packaged bag.
As a charity organization, Lived Experiences relies on the donations of the community to help fund these distribution services. You can help by donating money via PayPal. If you’d like to donate food or are interested in volunteering, scroll to the bottom of their ‘About Us’ page to contact them and find out how.
10. Samoa/Lutheran Feeding Ministry
When Lemon Grove Lutheran Church and the Samoa Independent Full Gospel Church combined their food pantries, they became the largest free food distribution center in San Diego County. Twice a month, they provide free food boxes to those in need. They also respond to emergency food referrals from local county services and host a free soup kitchen every Monday.
You can find out more about the pantry by visiting their social media page. You can also find out how to donate or volunteer by contacting the pantry through the Lemon Grove Lutheran Church.
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