Here in the Morongo Basin, one in five people may face hunger, primarily due to significant barriers in access to healthy food. In response, FIND Food Bank and the Morongo Basin Healthcare District have formed a partnership to address the increasing rate of food insecurity in the Morongo Basin. FIND Food Bank’s new branch, provided by the healthcare district, gives local food pantries a nearby location to pick-up healthy ingredients and non-perishable food items in bulk for distribution within the Morongo Basin. Reporter Cassidy Taylor has more information about the partnership…
This partnership mainly means that area food pantries do not have to commute over an hour to FIND’s warehouse in Indio to pick up food. For many, that drive is a burden, with some agencies renting a truck weekly and others simply not going down as often as needed due to fuel and labor costs. FIND President and CEO, Debbie Espinosa said in a press release that, “After a year of serving over 750 families twice a month through [the] mobile market at Joshua Tree Elementary School, [they] realized that the need for healthy food was not specific to the pandemic” and with the partnership, FIND will be continuing to provide those families with food.
FIND will store the food locally with the help of MBHD so that area food pantries can pick-up and distribute locally as well. Anyone with questions regarding food access or becoming a FIND member food pantry can call 760-501-1637.
