High rent, bad weather, and the end of pandemic stimulus benefits are all leading to crushing food insecurity for many families in the South Bay.
But even as food donations pour in, there's a very specific need for volunteers to get the food to those families.
Volunteers with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County put food into the cars of those who need it, and the line on Wednesday was long.
"There's a huge need for food, which means there's an enormous need for volunteers to help distribute the food,” said Gregory Kepferle, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.
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They need volunteers so badly, they've recently had to turn cars away because there aren't enough people to help.
"They bring us the food, we have to bag it. As you can see, we're bagging it now, to try to get it out to the families because tonight we're serving almost 800 families in two hours,” said program director Araceli Gonzales.
Along with groups like Second Harvest Food Bank, they're serving 4,500 families a week. And the need is non-stop.
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"We've seen Calfresh go away, we've seen the end of stimulus benefits, we've seen inflation rising, rents rising, and the need is actually now more than at the height of the pandemic,” said Kepferle.
There are several distribution centers to choose from for those that want to help.
