Feeding San Diego works together with The Lucky Duck Foundation and The Salvation Army to provide jobs for those experiencing homelessness

Good things can happen when people work together. The Lucky Duck Foundation believes working together to share and maximize resources is critical when addressing homelessness, and we agree. Today, we’re sharing the story of what happened when three local nonprofits came together to create a new opportunity. Opportunity for people experiencing homelessness and the transformation it paved the way for. It’s a story of both want and need. About people who needed a second chance and the nonprofits that connected the dots to create jobs while also contributing to the greater good of our community.  

With funding from The Lucky Duck Foundation’s regional employment and job training program, The Salvation Army now employs residents of their shelter as drivers to operate eight different Feeding San Diego routes to rescue approximately 30,000 pounds of food per month. The food’s rescued from numerous grocery stores including Costco and Smart & Final, as well as Starbucks and Amazon warehouses. The partnership effort has already rescued more than 200,000 pounds of food. This is food that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill, and we were able to redistribute it to those in need, including individuals experiencing homelessness. The food is often distributed to residents at The Salvation Army’s shelter.  

One of those residents is Emiliano, who spent part of his teen life on the street, addicted to heroin. By his early 20s, he had been in and out of prison multiple times. His last time in the courtroom, the judge sent him to The Salvation Army’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Once he finished it, he was offered a job as a driver. Emiliano found a new purpose in life thanks to this opportunity.

“I always had a will of wanting to help people, but I never had a means of doing it,” he said. “This is truly a second chance at everything in life. This is a chance to be there for people, to be present for them. These are things that I never could have imagined possible.”   

Because of the pandemic, Feeding San Diego has seen an increase in hunger throughout the county. We remain committed to food rescue as the primary means of providing food to those in need.  

“There is a much greater need for food assistance within our community than there was just a year ago,” said Dan Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Feeding San Diego and Executive Committee Member of The Lucky Duck Foundation. “This is an important collaboration that rescues thousands of pounds of viable food and gets it to people who are facing food insecurity, or experiencing homelessness while also employing people experiencing homelessness.”   

It’s this interconnected network of charitable organizations that has allowed people to help other people. This then creates a chain reaction of assistance at all levels.  

Watch the video here to learn more about Emiliano’s story and the partnership overall.