A project that has been in the works for months came to official fruition on Friday.
With a snip of the scissors, Escalon Strong President Andy Hagan cut the ribbon to dedicate the Escalon Strong Giving Pantry. Now open at 1512 California St., Escalon, a sizeable crowd filtered in to the pantry for an early afternoon ceremony on Jan. 31.
There were presentations from Fatima Ureno on behalf of Congressman Josh Harder’s office and Scott Tyrrell on behalf of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, congratulating the Escalon Strong organization on the project.
In remarks prior to cutting the ribbon, Hagan offered thanks to those who have helped along the way, bringing the pantry project to life.
“It’s a pretty exciting day for us to get this going for the community,” Hagan said.
The list of contributors and supporters was long, from those that helped with installation of racks to store pallets of food to doing cosmetic work inside the 1512 California location.
“It’s a community effort, there’s no ‘I’ in team and when everyone comes together and works together, this is the kind of stuff we can do,” Hagan said.
There are several food programs being run out of the Giving Pantry, open to residents of Escalon, Collegeville and Farmington. Food for distribution is sourced through a number of avenues, and the goal is to help meet emergency food needs of many in the community, whether it is senior citizens or local families.
Hagan pointed to food being donated through Orlando’s Market and the Donut Shop as adding to the effort, along with donated pallets of food, items from McDonald’s in Salida, and more.
Escalon Strong members Elsa Sandoval and Sherry Hill got special recognition during Hagan’s remarks, as they were instrumental in getting the food program underway.
“They started with basically a truck of ice and picking up food, and it kind of has grown into where it is now; they’ve done an amazing thing,” Hagan said.
In presenting a certificate of recognition from Congressman Harder, Ureno said she was excited to be back in Escalon for the ribbon cutting, having learned of the food pantry idea more than a year ago.
“Your organization and its services are a needed and valuable asset to the Escalon community and the county is proud to provide support,” Tyrrell read from the proclamation from the county Board of Supervisors.
From the first food pick ups, the program grew into serving about 300 community members each week, with distribution hosted at the Escalon Community Center. Now, with a building of their own, Escalon Strong expects to continue expanding, adding new services and reaching more residents in need.
Regularly scheduled programs include the most utilized grocery giveaway with boxes of food distributed, done once or twice a month, and clients contacted for a pick-up time.
Senior Supper bags are provided to local seniors, while Pacific Coast Producers have also come through with donations of several pallets of fruit, tomatoes and various canned items.
“We will be open at least three times a week, we’re trying to work out volunteers and how we’ll do that,” Sandoval explained of getting a schedule put together. “It’s just a process; there’s still a lot of things to work out. We’ve been doing pretty well since Sherry and I started doing this in the summer of 2023.”
Sandoval said while the Community Center worked as their base for several months, the Escalon Strong organization needed a place of its own in order to continue expanding. With the building at 1512 California Street officially in service, they can now grow the program.
