Ventura County dignitaries joined FOOD Share President and CEO Bonnie Weigel, as well as the regional food bank’s staff, donors, volunteers and supporters, to get a first glimpse of the vehicle that will deliver food and support services to people living in underserved areas of the region who don’t have nearby access to one of FOOD Share’s 180 traditional food pantries and programs.

FOOD Share and Friends was made possible through a partnership with the Port of Hueneme and Wells Fargo. FOOD Share Chairman of the Board Bryan Murphy stated, “This program will enable us to go to places we haven’t been before. Without the Port of Hueneme and Wells Fargo, this simply would have remained a dream.”

Although FOOD Share currently serves 74,500 individuals in need, Weigel brings attention to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study which shows that there are actually about 95,200 people in Ventura County who are food insecure. Weigel says, “There are so many misconceptions about hunger in our county that we need to dispel. There are still people out there who need our help, and believe it or not, almost all of the people we serve work multiple jobs, full-time jobs, and just cannot make ends meet.”

In addition to providing nutritious foods and healthy cooking demonstrations, FOOD Share is collaborating with a host of social service providers, such as Ventura County Health Care Agency and the County of Ventura Human Services Agency, to connect people with a network of essential services through FOOD Share and Friends that include: healthcare, dental health and employment training. Susan Haverland, FOOD Share’s Vice President of Programs and Services, announced the mobile pantry will begin serving the community in April, visiting two sites per day, three days per week.

“FOOD Share and Friends’ vision is so much deeper and profound than delivering food,” explains Reza Razzaghipour, Wells Fargo Regional President of Pacific Coast Community Banking. “What you see is a vessel for hope—it’s going to bring people to stability and self-sufficiency. At Wells Fargo, we pledge to send our financial experts out to these communities to educate the underserved on financial literacy. We are proud to partner with an organization that has a major impact on the community.”