Operation HOPE expands food pantry in response to increased demand

Operation HOPE-North County, a nonprofit homeless shelter for families with children and single women in Vista, expanded its food bank, Pantry of Hope, and New Beginnings boutique, which provides free gently used clothing, to meet increased demand from the community.

Over the past year, the shelter has seen a five-fold increase in the need for food assistance. In June 2022, the nonprofit’s food pantry was serving roughly 40 families a month. But in June this year, the nonprofit says the number jumped to 200, which was not unusual for other recent months.

The rising cost of living coupled with the ending of the Emergency Benefit Allotments through Calfresh in April are the main reasons for increased demand for their services, according to the nonprofit.

Operation HOPE-North County expanded its food pantry as part of its recent renovations.

(Courtesy of Operation HOPE-North County)

“Families that were previously receiving an extra $200-$400 per month the last few years through Calfresh are now struggling to keep up with inflation,” said Anneliese Petitt, the nonprofit’s community engagement coordinator.

Operation HOPE-North County expanded its food pantry to meet increased demand.

(Courtesy of Operation HOPE-North County)

In the past, before the pandemic, the food pantry was used mainly by folks in the nonprofit’s program who were placed in permanent housing, but recently more families from the larger community came there looking for help.

To help struggling families who are on the verge of homelessness, even if they have jobs, the nonprofit offers food, clothing and diapers, so those families have enough money to pay for rent and utilities.

“The idea to create the Pantry of Hope was implemented because we did not want our former clients to have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table,” said Guadalupe Ochoa, case manager at Operation HOPE-North County and founder of Pantry of Hope.

But recently the nonprofit needed more room to stock those items and distribute them.

Operation HOPE-North County expanded its food bank to meet increased demand.

(Courtesy of Operation HOPE-North County)

As an additional part of its campus renovation that began last fall and was done largely with help from the North Coast Church and several local businesses, the shelter expanded its food pantry to four times its original size.

The food pantry and boutique had previously been together in one office space and now they are spread out in two offices. They are housed in a building that used to be part of the Vista Community Center at 840 Townsite Drive.

The renovations were funded largely by donations from Nordson Corporation, which assisted with painting, and Oceanside Ace Hardware, which provided supplies. MiraCosta College and California State University San Marcos provided volunteers to help with the renovations over the past several months.

From left: Guadalupe Ochoa, Operation HOPE-North County case manager; Jazmin Sanchez from Leah’s Pantry and Anneliese Petitt, Operation HOPE-North County community engagement coordinator, show the Gold Star Certification that the nonprofit received from Leah’s Pantry.

(Courtesy of Operation HOPE-North County)

A third space is used for the nonprofit’s administration office. The nonprofit rents the administrative office and boutique for $1,000 per month. The nonprofit gets the space for the food pantry for free as a donation from Advanced Builders Properties and the Voza family.

“We have been developing the pantry into a client choice pantry, where families can come and shop for their own produce and dry goods along with other resources such as diapers, wipes, toiletries and pet food. Many of the renovations were cosmetic, to ensure that we are providing a welcoming and dignified space for the community to access these basic resources,” Petitt said.

The expansion of the boutique allowed the nonprofit to separate the shop into men’s, women’s and children’s areas and organize the items according to size to make it easier to find the clothing needed.

The New Beginnings Boutique at Operation HOPE-North County.

(Courtesy of Operation HOPE-North County)

Over the last six months, the nonprofit has been working with Leah’s Pantry Nutrition Pantry Program, which supports community pantries with training, resources and technical assistance. The nonprofit recently received its Gold Star Certification.

“Through this process, we have learned how to ensure that we are providing our clients with the most nutritionally and culturally appropriate products, provided nutrition education for clients and built partnerships with community patterns who have provided on-site Calfresh and WIC assistance,” Petitt said.

Both the New Beginnings Boutique and Pantry of Hope are open to the wider community along with shelter residents and alumni of the program.

A recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expanded food pantry and boutique drew several dozen attendees.

“The Pantry of Hope allows us the opportunity to support our shelter graduate families that have obtained housing, but are still dealing with food insecurity. The pantry also provides us the opportunity to serve our local community to prevent homelessness by providing this necessity to our community members in need,” said Jimmy Figueroa, executive director of Operation HOPE-North County.

Operation HOPE-North County, a shelter for families with children and single women.

(Eduardo Contreras / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Operation HOPE-North County opened its doors in 2003 as a cold weather shelter for families with children and in 2016 transitioned to a year-round shelter. The nonprofit’s Our Steps to Independence program provides safe shelter, case management and support services to build life skills and help formerly homeless folks become self-sufficient, productive community members.

The shelter, which includes 12 bedrooms and 45 beds at 859 E. Vista Way, serves more than 160 individuals per year, of which about 60 percent are under the age of 18, the nonprofit says.

In fiscal year 2022-23, which ran July 1 last year to June 30 this year, the shelter served 655 families and distributed more than 100,000 pounds of food, according to the nonprofit.