For most of us, running out of milk, or dinner fixings, or toothpaste can be easily remedied with a quick trip to the grocery store. Even our pantry participants don’t have too far to travel to have access to fresh groceries on a weekly basis. But out in extreme West Marin, easy access to food is a foreign concept. The area is so remote that you can drive for miles without seeing a single building. Oftentimes, the only signs of life are the dairy farms that dot the landscape. It’s these dairy farms where our latest innovation has begun; the Mobile Pantry.

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Providing Healthy Food to Isolated Neighbors

The ranch hands on these farms often work six days a week, and many do not own cars. To get to the grocery store, some have to find childcare and others must wait for a friend to take them on their one day off. And due to the higher cost of food in this remote area, the buying power in west Marin is drastically reduced. Enter the Food Bank’s mobile pantry unit, the new program that brings fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and proteins out to struggling families who have limited access to food.

Positive Response Thus Far

Norma’s husband works on one of the farms and says it definitely is a struggle to feed her family every month. “The closest grocery stores are miles away, and it costs extra money to just get there to buy food to feed my family.  The food you are delivering is really healthy, and is helping out this community. It’s amazing that you would come all the way out here to help us.”

Long Time Coming

Edith Cadena, Food Bank Program Coordinator, runs the mobile pantry and knows it’s making a huge impact. “The Food Bank does urban well, and now we are impacting the rural community, which is a region I have wanted to target for awhile now.  It’s been wonderful to see the trust growing in the community.”

Connected Through Food

Consider a donation to help ensure that all of our hungry neighbors have access to healthy food — whether they live in the city, the suburbs, or the most remote places in the Bay Area.