Behind the Welcome Center we have Louse’s Pantry. Customers are given the opportunity to receive food twice a month as long as they live in the following zip codes: 95110, 95117, 95125, 95126, 95128 and 95134. Here they are given a three-day supply of food that consists of eggs, meat, bread, vegetables, and tortillas. For the homeless who do have access to cooking, they are given a no prep cooking bag which consists of canned foods that can easily be opened without a can opener. Most of this food is donated from Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. They provide a total of 1.5 million pounds of food each year but Sacred Heart distributes over 2 million pounds of food each year. I volunteer about once a week and there are moments when we get families that come in need of help; however, they do not live within the area codes that we help out. I then have to refer them to Second Harvest for additional services.
Each day we have about 50 volunteers come in here and sort out the food that we receive and will distribute. As you can tell the smell of the onions and vegetables are very strong. We are required to wear long sleeves and pants as well as close-toed shoes since we handle food. Depending if we are working with fresh products or canned foods we are given the opportunity to wear a facemask and hair net. I enjoy working in here because we meet wonderful people during the process. Sometimes it may be tiring after a few hours but we have the chance of volunteering next door at the Clothes Closet. How about I walk you there now!