The School Pantry Program
Approximately 358,000 people across San Diego County face hunger, including over 100,000 children, while more than 38% of all food produced in the United States goes unsold or uneaten every year.
High grocery prices, coupled with rising rent and utility costs, are stretching many families’ resources to the breaking point. Three out of every 10 San Diegans don’t make enough to cover basic living expenses. For young students, not knowing where their next meal will come from is especially detrimental.
Feeding San Diego partners with 60 schools throughout the county to create School Pantries. These pantries provide reliable access to healthy dry staples and – uniquely – to fresh produce, accessible to families at trusted locations they already visit, their local schools.
But there’s more work to be done.
Another 30+ schools (and counting) are on our waiting list. Feeding San Diego is committed to pulling these schools off of the wait list during the 2024-2025 school year — and we need your help.
Every School Pantry Helps Hundreds of Kids
In FY24 (July 1 – June 30, 2023), School Pantries served 5,200 unduplicated households monthly. Throughout the year, these pantries provided over 1.7 million meals.
According to our most recent survey results, participants attending School Pantries report:
- 85% of families eat more fruits and vegetables
- 64% of families eat less unhealthy food (fast food, junk food)
- 87% of families prepare more meals at home
- 70% of families agree or strongly agree that their child’s grades have improved
- 73% of families agree or strongly agree that their child’s attendance has improved
- 93% agree or strongly agree that their overall experience with Feeding San Diego has been a pleasant one.
Help take the next school off the waitlist!
Schools We’ve Taken Off the Waitlist as of November 2024
- Bostonia Global Elementary
- Clover Flat Elementary
Darnall Charter School
Feaster Charter School
- Godfrey Berry Elementary School
- Guajome Park Academy Charter
- Hancock Elementary
- Harriet Tubman Village Charter School
Imperial Beach Charter
- Lemon Crest Elementary
- Libby Elementary School
- Lindo Park Elementary
- Lincoln Middle School
- Millennial Tech Middle School
- Mount Miguel High School
Pacific View Leadership Elementary
Pauma School
Penn Elementary School
Pro Kids, First Tee Oceanside
- San Diego High School
Hancock Elementary
“We are providing a service to those who are serving our country. These are families who have transitioned from one place to another for service purposes. These are families who are on a fixed income, and they are in San Diego, one of the most expensive cities in the United States. The basic needs of feeding your family, the basic needs of feeding yourself, and having that energy need to be covered first. Really, we’re trying to catch them up into stability.”
-Abigail Avila, community schools coordinator at Hancock Elementary
Berry Elementary
“Kids often have the fastest meals, the quickest stuff, the dollar mac and cheese, and then they’re coming to school without energy, or their brains aren’t functioning properly. For someone to step up and say, we’ll provide the money it takes to make sure other children get good food. That’s really what our world needs is more of that.”
-Joe Prosapio, principal at Berry Elementary
Guajome Park Academy
“It’s expensive to live in California. We just moved here in August. My husband is injured medically. He hasn’t been working for two months, so things have been challenging lately. It’s good to know that here are resources like this available because it does help, I think every little bit helps.”
-Jessica, a parent whose son attends Guajome Park Academy
Help Build More School Pantries
DIGITAL DONOR WALL
$1,000,000+ Farmer’s Market Sponsorship
Your name here
$500,000 - $999,999 Watermelon Sponsorship
Your name here
$100,000 - 499,999 Apple Sponsorship
Violet M. Johnson Family Foundation
$50,000 - 99,999 Plum Sponsorship
Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and the Kroger Co. Zero Hunger
Anonymous
Sapp Family Foundation
$25,000 - 49,999 Blueberry Sponsorship
Switchfoot Bro-Am Foundation
Samuel H. French and Katherine Weaver French Fund
The Enyedi Family
Joseph & Debra Peacock Charitable Fund
Willy and Alchera Ayyad
Dennis and Pam Lint
$5,000 - 24,999 School Pantry Collective
Rosemary Kraemer Raitt Foundation
Charles & Ruth Billingsley Foundation
Jamie Carr Household
David and Kristen Beatty Household
Sanderson Family Donor Advised Fund
Jason and Candice Gehrmann
John and Catherine Garrigan Household
Nick and Jo Duffield Household
David and Kristen Beatty Household
Maureen and Shawn Caine
Jordan Charitable Fund
Marie Rotter Household
SC Fuels
Cal-Mil
Stater Bros. Charities
Questions?
We’re happy to help! Please contact Ali Colbran, our senior director of development, at acolbran@feedingsandiego.org
