East Palo Alto-based Nuestra Casa filling new food need

He said through their partnerships, most notably Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, Nuestra Casa has weathered the storm and are meeting peoples’ needs. But Garcia’s biggest concern is how long can they fully support the community. One of Garcia’s biggest concerns is how long the increased demand will continue — not so much because of the increased need for food, but the pressure it puts on families, who are already struggling with long-term joblessness.

“Sixty to 70% of the people we serve are undocumented,” Garcia said, adding many work in the gray area of legitimate and illegal work, the type of employment that has few to no workers’ benefits or even steady income. Many of these people have not paid their rent in months and Garcia worries what’s going to happen when the rent moratoriums in place go away and people now face the prospect of paying thousands of dollars in back rent.

“Having to go to sleep owing three or four months’ rent and no expectation (of having enough money to pay it is difficult),” Garcia said.

That’s where Nuestra Casa comes in. Garcia believes if his organization can help a family save money on groceries, they can then spend that extra income on other household needs.

“We are trying to help. Not with money, but food and other resources,” Garcia said. “If you can save $200 a month and we can provide you with that support, then you can start paying debt.”

Garcia said his group supplies households with 40 to 50 pounds of groceries per week, but they have also partnered with Woodside’s Alice’s Restaurant, which produces 120 to 150 prepared meals a week. Nuestra Casa has also received help from the Heroes Campaign — a group of Palo Alto High School students who deliver up to 200 prepared meals and helps with distribution once a month.

Like most food distribution centers, Nuestra Casa is not accepting food donations from the general public. But he said there are other ways to help. One is to donate to restaurants providing prepared meals to organizations. And monetary donations are always helpful as the group has had to add staff to fill the orders.

“It’s status quo for right now,” Garcia said. “At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of money from foundations. Now, that’s dried up, big time. … We need to keep this going, but we’re stretching the budget.”

Go to nuestracasa.org for more information or to help.