Agency Spotlight: Oceanside Sanctuary

This month, Feeding San Diego’s Partnership team is highlighting Oceanside Sanctuary, a local Christian fellowship dedicated to providing various resources and support to community members, including their growing food pantry led by Victoria McGoldrick.

A Nutritious Mission

While Oceanside Sanctuary has been an agency partner for almost ten years, this small but mighty pantry grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of community donations and Feeding San Diego’s Food Rescue program, their pantry provides produce, dairy, dry goods, and meat to over 100 families every week. Their priority is to stock the pantry with items that are both delicious and beneficial. When families face difficult financial decisions between purchasing (often pricey) ingredients for a healthy meal or paying a bill, usually, they disregard the former. During a time when over 60% of Americans are working paycheck to paycheck, Oceanside Sanctuary’s generosity and diligence to providing nutritious food is truly lifesaving.

Always Improving

It’s no secret that hunger looks different on everyone. However, finding a source of food isn’t always the last hurdle. Oceanside Sanctuary recently opened a second distribution every other Sunday to meet an increasing need but sometimes, new visitors have limited English or struggle to make online pantry appointments. Victoria has gone above and beyond to ensure everyone can receive the food they need, from simplifying the registration form to bringing on a Mandarin-speaking volunteer. By constantly improving their services to be more inclusive and accessible for all community members, we are reminded that even the smallest change will make the biggest impact.

Thank you to Victoria and your team for all you do!

New clients must register with the food pantry before their first visit. Please visit Oceanside Sanctuary’s Food Pantry website for registration information, hours, and more.