USS Midway Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant To Local Food Pantry

SAN DIEGO, CA – The USS Midway Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the Jewish Family Service of San Diego Tuesday to support the organization's food pantry.

The Hand Up pantry provides food to more than 2,000 San Diego residents each year, including 500 active-duty military members. The pantry provides essentials like groceries and diapers to residents in need and is the only pantry in San Diego that offers unlimited produce. Pantry clients gathered 88,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables in 2017, according to the Jewish Family Service.

"Jewish Family Service works every day to help struggling families and individuals in San Diego move forward and build more stable, secure lives," said Michael Hopkins, CEO of the nonprofit.

"Our commitment to serving military families is strongly aligned with the goals of the USS Midway Foundation, and we look forward to using these much-needed grant funds to continue providing food assistance to our region's active-duty military personnel and their families."

The USS Midway Foundation awarded a total of more than $560,000 to the Jewish Family Service and 33 other nonprofits in San Diego County for supporting and serving active-duty military members and their families in San Diego County.

In 2017, families living in military housing at county locations like Camp Pendleton and Murphy Canyon Military Housing received enough food for roughly 41,606 meals from the pantry, including basic hygiene items like diapers and shaving kits, according to the Jewish Family Service. The nonprofit also offers education and counseling services for military families in the county.

"We salute Jewish Family Service and its Hand Up Food Pantry for being a pillar in our region by helping military families access healthy food and fostering a stronger, more resilient community," USS Midway Foundation President Dan Beintema said.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock