Each week, those in need throughout the community have an extra opportunity to get some food items.
Escalon Strong, in partnership with Oasis out of Stockton, has food to distribute at the Escalon Community Center on Thursday afternoons.
Elsa Sandoval of Escalon Strong said Oasis is a youth center/food bank/homeless organization that serves Stockton, but they were able to partner with the group to bring food to the Escalon community as well.
She explained that Oasis has a contract with businesses including Starbucks, Trader Joes, Save Mart, Costco, Walmart and more, whereby they get surplus food items. Now, some of those come to Escalon Strong.
“They send part of that to us,” Sandoval explained of the weekly food allotment. “Starbucks has been the steady one, every week.”
When the team of two Escalon Strong volunteers arrives back at the Escalon Community Center from Stockton with the week’s food items on truck, another group of volunteers is ready to unload and sort it. Once sorted into the various bins marked with what is in each one, the doors to the Community Center are opened for business.
“They come in and can select just what they will eat,” Sandoval said of the free food.
The recent Thursday distribution featured a variety of bread and desserts from different stores along with plenty of breakfast sandwiches from Starbucks, pastries, some protein boxes, cookies and more.
Basically, everything that Starbucks carries except the coffee can be part of the distribution.
“We serve not only Escalon but also Farmington and Collegeville,” Sandoval said, with a representative from the outlying communities typically coming in to pick up items for those locations.
She said that the local Escalon Strong group has also partnered with Orlando’s Market to accept some of their food items and they hope to expand the distribution program in the future.
Right now, they are looking for their own site but Sandoval said they are grateful to the city for use of the Community Center for the once-a-week giveaway.
Anyone in need is welcome to attend, Sandoval added, and the Thursday program varies slightly in terms of time, but generally occurs within a noon to 2 p.m. window.
Volunteers doing the sorting kept up a brisk pace this past Thursday, as the line outside started to grow.
It’s a way the local organization can continue to help make positive change in the community, Sandoval said, and she expressed gratitude to the corps of volunteers that help each week.
“Many of them are seniors who attend the Senior Lunch program here,” she said of the Community Center location.
