SAN DIEGO — Hundreds of food bank volunteers are teaming up to feed San Diegans in need through an emergency mass drive-thru event. At SDCCU Stadium, 1,000 low-income families and seniors will each drive away with a 25-pound of nutritious food on Saturday.
"There's enough food for everybody, so people don't need to worry,” said James Floros, CEO, Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank on Friday.
Keith Maddox, the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, teamed up with the San Diego Food Bank to host the mass drive-thru food distribution on a first-come first-serve basis.
Food Bank volunteers bagged up groceries to give away. Each nearly 25-pound bag is filled with canned chili, canned salmon, sweet peas, spaghetti, peanut butter, rice and apples, grapes, and strawberries.
"There's no shame in this. [To] a lot of people who have never had to ask for help -it's okay to ask for help,” Floros said.
The Food Bank feeds about 350,000 people a month. That number has nearly doubled since the coronavirus crisis hit.
"We need financial contributions because we have to buy a lot more food, and we’re always in need of volunteers, but make sure if you sign up, you show up,” Floros said.
Due to COVID-19, the Food Bank sanitizes all the work area and everyone wears gloves.
“We used to have shifts of 40 people. Now, there are 20 people because we are doing all the social distancing to safeguard all of our volunteers,” Floros said.
The volunteers will consist of teachers, nurses, construction workers, and grocery workers to pass out food until it runs out. There will not be any walk-ups allowed. Just stay in your car and open the trunk for volunteers to place a food bag inside.
"People are scared right now. The economy is tough. A lot of people have lost their jobs. A lot of people are worried about losing their jobs and their paychecks, and at the same time, they are fearful for their health,” Maddox said.
The mass drive-thru giveaway will begin at 9 a.m. at SDCCU Stadium.