Food Share of Ventura County
“We’re here as a safety net and we all need to pull on it so that it’ll be tight enough that when someone falls through, they can bounce back up.”
When Sylvia Cates and her husband faced an unexpected car repair bill earlier this year, they had to dip into their food budget to cover the cost. They’ve frequently reallocated funds—with groceries often paying the price—ever since Cates’ husband retired and she left her bookkeeping job to care for her handicapped brother-in-law. Responsible for his uninsured medical supplies and cooking for him and her husband, both of whom are diabetic, Cates struggles with the pressures of meeting nutritional needs while facing food insecurity.
“We were middle-class Americans and able to make it no problem, but, all of a sudden, things got tight,” says 62-year-old Cates, whose family lives off of less than $3,000 a month.
To help offset food costs, Cates pays a weekly visit to the Food Share of Ventura County warehouse for drive-thru grocery distributions. She’s one of 250,000 people the nonprofit food bank—one of the Feeding America network’s 200 members—serves annually through the donation of 20 million pounds of food.
Making sure no one goes hungry
One in four Ventura County residents experiences food scarcity, and almost 70 percent of the area’s households are forced to choose between the cost of utilities or medical care and groceries.
“There’s no one face of hunger,” notes Food Share CEO Monica White. “We’re serving working families, we’re serving veterans, and we’re serving the unhoused.”
The organization’s roots of serving the many faces of hunger date back to 1978, when eight friends teamed up to cook meals for a nearby unhoused community. What started in a residential garage has grown to three warehouses that store shelf-stable items donated by the US Department of Agriculture, surplus products provided by supermarkets and farms, and bulk purchases from manufacturers. After being sorted and stored, groceries are then donated directly via drive-thru collection or to shelters, seniors, pantries, and schools through 180 nonprofit agencies.
Despite its impact, a food-secure future remains uncertain. With continuous cuts to federal funding, White urges the community to contact elected officials to advocate for these programs.
“We’re here as a safety net and we all need to pull on it so it’ll be tight enough that when someone falls through, they can bounce back up,” she says.
With inflation rising, Food Share plans to expand operations to maintain its impact. Within the next three years, it intends to move into a larger, newly built facility—a move aimed at supporting more people like Cates.
“You don’t feel any judgment, and just knowing that there’s another resource is a huge relief,” she says.
Revolution Foods
“Sometimes, our meal is the only one people eat in a day. For kids to do well, they need the right fuel.”
Jesus Rios remembers opening the fridge as a child to a single loaf of bread and a gallon of powdered milk. This was the first time he realized his family faced food insecurity. Now, as principal of a public high school in East San Jose, his experience is mirrored by many of his students.
“Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a number of our students living in homes with multiple families as well as a larger number of unhoused students,” he says of the adolescents at Latino College Preparatory Academy (LCPA).
To alleviate the burden of hunger many students face before starting their school day, LCPA, as well as two other schools on the shared campus, use federal funding to enlist the help of Revolution Foods. Thanks to government support, the California-based social enterprise serves breakfast and lunch to the institutions’ 650 students at no cost.
A health-conscious social enterprise
Revolution Foods’ impact extends beyond California. It also serves students and seniors in neighboring Nevada, producing and delivering a total of 50 million annual meals. Recipients can choose from over 70 culturally diverse meal options, all of which are crafted by nutritionists and void of trans fats, additives, or processed foods—a focus aimed at keeping students energized.
“Sometimes, our meal is the only one people eat in a day,” says Revolution Foods spokesperson Heather Clevenger. “For kids to do well, they need the right fuel.”
The effects of going hungry
A 2023 study on academic outcomes and food insecurity in early adolescents found that inadequate access to food predicted lower academic skills over time. The finding is one Rios has been championing at his school.
“According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, students must have their basic physiological needs met—like access to nourishing meals—before they can fully engage in higher-level cognitive tasks,” he says.
According to recent reports from the School Nutrition Association, the Trump administration has proposed cutting over $1 billion in funding to food banks and nutritional school programs, with further potential cuts looming. To mitigate the damage, Clevenger encourages those in support of these programs to contact their local congressperson.
“Students and seniors are two populations that often suffer in silence, so we need to continue shining a bright light on the challenges they’re facing,” she says.
At LCPA, Rios sees the power of proper nutrition firsthand.
“Our students are now more energized, engaged, and ready to learn, with consistent access to meals twice a day, five days a week,” he says.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2025 issue of alive magazine (US edition).
