Drive-thru food pantry feeds thousands in Southern California

It whitethorn conscionable beryllium Southern California's longest drive-thru line.

But erstwhile these drivers propulsion up to nan front, there's nary window, accelerated nutrient aliases moreover cashiers.

Instead, each car is met pinch a unit of volunteers, efficiently placing bundles of caller nutrient and 2 weeks' worthy of groceries successful nan trunk — each for free.

Volunteers spot market items successful nan car trunks of recipients Simrin Singh/CBS News

This is nan Seva Collective nutrient pantry successful Santa Ana, California, a nutrient godforsaken — a geographic area wherever residents struggle to consistently entree nutritious food. 

Born successful a important clip of request astatine nan commencement of nan COVID-19 pandemic, this statement began arsenic a scrappy cognition — a fistful of volunteers, nutrient and toys purchased by nan organizers themselves, and a dream to thief a organization dealing pinch nutrient insecurity.

"When we first started, we were driving to LA downtown nutrient market, we were driving to Central California to prime up citrus — we were benignant of each complete nan place," said Seva Collective laminitis Bandana Singh.

Four cardinal meals later, nan Seva Collective has continued to grow, bringing connected caller volunteers, partnering pinch nutrient banks, companies and farms, and hosting typical artifact and clothing drives.

"Our extremity is to get caller food, arsenic good arsenic shelf-stable nutrient to each family's car aliases cart who comes done nan drive," Singh said. "We person cars statement up arsenic early arsenic 3 aliases 4 successful nan greeting — we don't commencement nan thrust till 9:30 a.m. So to america arsenic nan unpaid team, it tells america that nan request is location and we want to do immoderate we can."

The inaugural has go a organization staple that adjacent residents trust upon period aft period successful bid to provender their families, long-time recipient Jody Watts said.

"It takes distant a consciousness of dread and it takes distant a consciousness of worry of not having capable nutrient to proviso for nan family," Watts said.

Jody Watts, a longtime recipient of nan pantry, waits successful statement hours earlier nan thrust begins. Simrin Singh/CBS News

Although many, for illustration Watts, person been coming to nan pantry for years, each period brings successful caller faces, for illustration Laura Castro who heard astir Seva Collective done her kids' school.

"Since I person 5 kids, it's helping me," Castro said. "I dream my kids [leave here] pinch a large grin connected their face."

While its superior extremity is to provender group successful need, Seva Collective places an accent connected delivering caller nutrient and unprocessed foods to those successful statement to promote patient habits and slow systemic wellness problems successful this nutrient godforsaken community, Singh said.

This week's kit included watermelon, romaine, English muffins and more Simrin Singh/CBS News

Food deserts are astir communal successful Black and Brown communities and low-income areas, and often person an overabundance of accelerated nutrient chains and area stores that waste processed foods precocious successful fat, sweetener and salt, according to nan Food Empowerment Project.

"We cognize that if they're not consuming caller food, they're going to beryllium consuming junk and past that's a systemic problem that leads to wellness issues down nan line," Singh said. "So small steps now tin hopefully thief early generations and everyone's wellness arsenic they proceed to age."

While volunteers and recipients are from galore different backgrounds, nan founders' Sikh religion inspired nan creation of nan organization.

The sanction "Seva," comes from nan conception of selfless work successful nan Sikh faith. And their slogan, "Sarbat da Bhalla," is simply a dream for each of humanity to prosper, and inspires Sikhs to do bully for all.

And that's conscionable what this group is doing.

Each month, nan Seva Collective distributes 60,000 pounds of nutrient to much than 1,200 families. 

In its astir caller drive, nan statement besides distributed toys, books and clothes, partnering pinch brands for illustration Young LA.

The typical gift bags were fixed successful ceremony of Vaisakhi, 1 of nan astir religiously important days of nan twelvemonth for Sikhs. It marks nan commencement of nan Khalsa Panth and nan nickname of Sikhs arsenic a general religion and community.

"We are celebrating Vaisakhi, which is erstwhile we became nan corporate that we are, and truthful we want to stock that pinch community. We want everyone to beryllium capable to observe pinch us," Kaur said. 

In summation to providing food, toys and different essentials, nan statement has passed connected nan tone of paying it forward. Watts, who has moreover volunteered pinch Seva Collective, said she tries to usage what she gets from nan thrust to provender others successful her community.

"It's fixed maine a consciousness of being capable to springiness back," Watts said. "I would ne'er person had nan intends to thief anybody other out. I'm precocious abnormal and having nan other nutrient — and I emotion to navigator — has made it disposable for maine to spell successful my vicinity to nan bum and provender them."

"If there's thing we don't use, we springiness it to personification other arsenic well," different recipient, Charlene, said. "We effort to thief our neighbors out."

What is possibly astir singular astir nan full cognition are nan volunteers who show up earlier sunrise, and days successful advance, to make this thrust hap — for thing successful return. Over 500 unsocial volunteers person shown up to thief complete nan years — rainfall aliases shine.

"It's a labour of love, but I cognize erstwhile you spot nan cars and nan number of cars and nan number of group successful line…it's making an impact, a affirmative effect connected nan community," said William Tarango, a coach who has volunteered pinch Seva Collective for 3 and a half years. "It's bully to beryllium astir group that conscionable want to serve, that conscionable want to help."

For immoderate volunteers, for illustration Shilpa Chitoori, coming agleam and early to hole for nan thrust and interacting pinch others moving location is energizing.

"It's a shape of meditation for maine because being amongst this full group of astonishing group and moving here, you know, what amended measurement to walk a Saturday greeting than this," Chitoori said.

Marsha Mehta, who has been bringing her kids to unpaid astatine nan drives since nan pandemic, says though nan pantry helps those successful line, it has besides made a lasting effect connected really her children position nan world.

"The first clip we came, my older boy was present during COVID, and he saw really grateful everybody was that was coming done nan nutrient lines, and that really made an belief connected him," Mehta said. "I deliberation this is specified an important point to do."

Seva Collective laminitis Bandana Singh assigns tasks to volunteers arsenic they get to nan drive. Simrin Singh/CBS News

Singh says this inaugural has fixed her nan opportunity to consciousness gratitude and humility, adding that nary of it would beryllium imaginable without nan service volunteers who take to walk their Saturday mornings filling each trunk pinch food.

"I consciousness fortunate to activity pinch those kinds of group each twelvemonth agelong and I consciousness blessed that we tin thief families who travel out," Singh said. "There's truthful galore emotions."

In:
• Nonprofit
• Food Insecurity
• Donations
• Volunteer
• Southern California
• California
• Santa Ana