Cold Storage Grants for Feeding San Diego Partner Agencies Open New Possibilities

Over the past two years, Feeding San Diego awarded 11 partner organizations with cold storage equipment to improve their operations, with funding by a grant from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) through California Climate Investments. Through these partner agencies, which include charitable and faith-based organizations, Feeding San Diego is able to increase the amount of nutritious food to the community. The 11 partners that were chosen for this grant range from grassroots to well-established non-profits and span across San Diego County. They were selected based on their potential to grow their retail rescue work and the need for expanded capacity in the locations they serve.  

Retail rescue is the process of rescuing and redistributing food that can’t be sold from stores like Starbucks and Costco. It is an integral part of Feeding San Diego’s mission. Over 70% of the food provided to the community in FY20 was rescued, despite disruptions to the food system and supply chain caused by the pandemic. Our partners help us redistribute nutritious rescued food and get it into the hands of those who need it most. Thanks to this grant, we have now purchased four refrigerated vans and provided seven agencies with cold storage, for a total of 14 cold storage items. 

Making a Difference  

One of our partners who received cold storage is the San Diego Black Panther Party for Community Empowerment, led by Chairman Henry Lee Wallace V. The organization does direct distributions in Southeast San Diego every Tuesday, reaching the communities of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights and Southcrest.   

“We thought the San Diego Black Panther Party would be a good candidate for this grant because they’re not heavily funded, said Megan McDonald, Partnerships Coordinator with Feeding San Diego. “They have such a great heart and desire to do good in the community but resources are lacking.”  

The organization’s cold storage, a commercial refrigerator/freezer, was delivered in March 2021 and allows them to rescue more food, store it and distribute it over a longer period of time. 

“It’s made a great difference for us because we’re able to take the food onsite and store it there,” said Mr. Wallace. “Now, we’re able to give out not only frozen meats from the onsite area but also fresh produce, eggs, and more. It helps us extend the shelf life of the food.”  

This grant will help the organization grow over time and continue to serve the underserved communities it reaches on a weekly basis.  

“You guys have been a great partner to us. You have helped us to extend this program. If it wasn’t for Feeding San Diego, we wouldn’t have near the amount of food we need for the people,” said Wallace. “There are so many people out here who are hungry. We get calls to go out to El Cajon and distribute food there. Hopefully we will be able to set up a satellite building to store more food so we can help with the food lines in San Diego County.” 

Grant for a Greener California  

In 2019, Feeding San Diego received a two-year grant called the CalRecycle Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant Program. The program provided $500,000 to expand existing food rescue and redistribution programs and divert food from our local landfills through the purchase of four modified vans and additional onsite cold storage capacity for agencies. San Diego Assemblymember Brian Maienschein authored legislation to enable this grant process through CalRecycle because food waste in landfills is one of the top sources of methane in the state. California is working to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The following agency partners received a refrigerated vehicle as part of the grant: Brother Benno, Bread of Life, Meridian Baptist Church, and Life Christian Center. Additional agency partners who received cold storage equipment are: Bethlehem Food Pantry, Catholic Charities, North County Sober Living, Partnership for a Better San Diego, Santee Food Bank, Salvation Army Chula Vista*, and the San Diego Black Panther Party for Community Empowerment.  

*The Salvation Army Chula Vista cold storage was funded jointly by CalRecycle and the Chula Vista Foundation.