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Happy Holidays! Volunteers and friends of Foundation Matthew 6:33 here with a bold Christmas wish: Can you donate $25 or more to help us purchase a cargo van to collect and distribute food to some of the most vulnerable families living in San Diego County? In case you’re not familiar with our story, here’s a little background info:
Starting in 2017, in response to an alarming increase in food insecurity faced by too many of our neighbors, a handful of volunteers decided to act. With few resources other than boundless commitment and energy, we started fanning out across north San Diego County, collecting whatever surplus food we could find – from sources as varied as Vons and independent growers to Red Lobster and Luna Grill – for immediate distribution to people in urgent need.
Now, three years later, Foundation Matthew 6:33 has collected and distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food to 18,000 mostly undocumented families, filling a critical gap in the regional social safety net.
And all this with no meaningful source of funding or support other than an assembly and distribution site generously provided for free by a small local church (First Congregational Church, Escondido... thank you, thank you, thank you!). Food acquisition, pickup, assembly, and distribution are all done entirely by volunteers at our own expense using our own vehicles.
Currently, about two dozen volunteers of every ethnic and economic stripe (many of whom are recipients of our donated groceries themselves!) are distributing bags of bread, produce, packaged goods, desserts and even diapers to more than 2,000 people each month… a 40 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels.
But the sudden increase has taxed our capacity to collect enough food to meet the increasing demand.
And we anticipate an even greater need after the pandemic abates, as more and more families are discovering our services during this unprecedented time.
Long story short… our “little food pantry that could” has reached an inflection point. In order to meet the needs of the growing number of families we’re privileged to serve, we need to grow ourselves. To that end, we’re imagining a new long-range strategy and new services we can offer our community, actively recruiting new volunteers, and creating the infrastructure and securing the capital equipment we need to keep pace with growth.
That’s why we’re hoping you’ll help us purchase a cargo van this holiday season!
As a relatively new partner of the San Diego Food Bank, we enjoy generous, weekly access to its provisions that we can immediately pass on to our vulnerable neighbors. But we’re limited by whatever we can fit into our own personal vehicles. What’s more, we’ve identified other potential sources of food; we simply don’t have the capacity to go and get it!
So we need your help in acquiring a new van, in order to gather:
a) increasing amounts of surplus food;
b) from a greater number of suppliers;
c) for more efficient delivery;
d) to an increasing number of vulnerable people!
We’re aiming high! We’re hoping to raise at least $25,000 (tax and title included) to purchase a new or used cargo van that will help increase the impact of our outreach exponentially!
Throughout this Advent season, we’re asking folks to donate $25 – of course you can always donate more – or any amount you can give! And if you’re wondering what to get those folks on your Christmas list who seem to have everything… how about a small piece of a van that will deliver hope to thousands of families?
We totally get the difficulty in giving that many of you face right now. Lots of our volunteers are in the same boat. But even if you can’t give (or even if you can), you can still be of enormous help by sharing a link to this page on all of your social media accounts. The more we spread the word, the more likely we are to reach our goal.
Because Foundation Matthew 6:33 is a gofundme Certified Charity and is organized as a 501(c)3, all gifts are tax deductible.
If we exceed our goal, we’ll consider purchasing a larger van to accommodate the kind of program growth we anticipate or add to our account for vehicle maintenance and insurance.
If we fall short of our goal, then we’ll consider used or less-expensive lease options, or leverage the funds that we do receive to attract matching grants.
And we’ll be over-the-moon grateful for whatever gifts we receive!
Thanks, for reading, thanks for helping, and thanks for all the ways you, as friends, are helping support our efforts to feed thousands of our hungry neighbors here in San Diego County. And Happy Holidays, everyone!
P.S. If you live in North County San Diego and want to help, we're always looking for energetic and joyful volunteers! Just contact us by clicking here .
Starting in 2017, in response to an alarming increase in food insecurity faced by too many of our neighbors, a handful of volunteers decided to act. With few resources other than boundless commitment and energy, we started fanning out across north San Diego County, collecting whatever surplus food we could find – from sources as varied as Vons and independent growers to Red Lobster and Luna Grill – for immediate distribution to people in urgent need.
Now, three years later, Foundation Matthew 6:33 has collected and distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food to 18,000 mostly undocumented families, filling a critical gap in the regional social safety net.
And all this with no meaningful source of funding or support other than an assembly and distribution site generously provided for free by a small local church (First Congregational Church, Escondido... thank you, thank you, thank you!). Food acquisition, pickup, assembly, and distribution are all done entirely by volunteers at our own expense using our own vehicles.
Currently, about two dozen volunteers of every ethnic and economic stripe (many of whom are recipients of our donated groceries themselves!) are distributing bags of bread, produce, packaged goods, desserts and even diapers to more than 2,000 people each month… a 40 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels.
But the sudden increase has taxed our capacity to collect enough food to meet the increasing demand.
And we anticipate an even greater need after the pandemic abates, as more and more families are discovering our services during this unprecedented time.
Long story short… our “little food pantry that could” has reached an inflection point. In order to meet the needs of the growing number of families we’re privileged to serve, we need to grow ourselves. To that end, we’re imagining a new long-range strategy and new services we can offer our community, actively recruiting new volunteers, and creating the infrastructure and securing the capital equipment we need to keep pace with growth.
That’s why we’re hoping you’ll help us purchase a cargo van this holiday season!
As a relatively new partner of the San Diego Food Bank, we enjoy generous, weekly access to its provisions that we can immediately pass on to our vulnerable neighbors. But we’re limited by whatever we can fit into our own personal vehicles. What’s more, we’ve identified other potential sources of food; we simply don’t have the capacity to go and get it!
So we need your help in acquiring a new van, in order to gather:
a) increasing amounts of surplus food;
b) from a greater number of suppliers;
c) for more efficient delivery;
d) to an increasing number of vulnerable people!
We’re aiming high! We’re hoping to raise at least $25,000 (tax and title included) to purchase a new or used cargo van that will help increase the impact of our outreach exponentially!
Throughout this Advent season, we’re asking folks to donate $25 – of course you can always donate more – or any amount you can give! And if you’re wondering what to get those folks on your Christmas list who seem to have everything… how about a small piece of a van that will deliver hope to thousands of families?
We totally get the difficulty in giving that many of you face right now. Lots of our volunteers are in the same boat. But even if you can’t give (or even if you can), you can still be of enormous help by sharing a link to this page on all of your social media accounts. The more we spread the word, the more likely we are to reach our goal.
Because Foundation Matthew 6:33 is a gofundme Certified Charity and is organized as a 501(c)3, all gifts are tax deductible.
If we exceed our goal, we’ll consider purchasing a larger van to accommodate the kind of program growth we anticipate or add to our account for vehicle maintenance and insurance.
If we fall short of our goal, then we’ll consider used or less-expensive lease options, or leverage the funds that we do receive to attract matching grants.
And we’ll be over-the-moon grateful for whatever gifts we receive!
Thanks, for reading, thanks for helping, and thanks for all the ways you, as friends, are helping support our efforts to feed thousands of our hungry neighbors here in San Diego County. And Happy Holidays, everyone!
P.S. If you live in North County San Diego and want to help, we're always looking for energetic and joyful volunteers! Just contact us by clicking here .
Organizer
Foundation Matthew 633, Inc.
Beneficiary