Marking its 35th anniversary this year, the Escalon C.A.R.E. Center – Community Action Resources of Escalon – is seeing as brisk a business as ever.
The local food cupboard helps to meet emergency food needs for residents in Escalon, Farmington and Collegeville. And with rising prices, continued inflation and lingering uncertainty regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, benefits for eligible residents, C.A.R.E. Director Sherrie Vaden said they are seeing an increase in people needing a little extra help.
“We’ve been feeding the community for 35 years,” Vaden said of providing that needed assistance.
The food pantry is a program of the Escalon Ministerial Association, which also helps support it throughout the year.
C.A.R.E., at 1601 Second St., Escalon has a weekly food distribution on Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for income eligible residents.
The Silver Seniors brown bag program for eligible senior citizens is offered the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Veggie Van, which brings farm fresh produce, arrives each second Tuesday around 9 a.m. and is open to anyone who wants to come and select some fruits and vegetables.
For many years, the food pantry shared space at the Escalon American Legion Hall, also on Second Street, but was able to move several years ago to their new location, a few doors down the street.
“It just keeps growing,” Vaden said.
Shelves at the local food pantry aren’t as full as they normally are, and Vaden said they are hoping to see an increase in community donations. She said among the most needed items are pasta, soups, rice, canned vegetables, peanut butter, crackers, tomato sauce and more. They do receive food from the Second Harvest food bank program and a couple of other organizations.
“Tuesdays we are serving between 80 and 90 seniors at this point, with new people signing up every day,” Vaden said of the brown bag program for seniors 60 and older. “On Wednesdays we are up to about 135 families.”
There will also be the traditional Stuff the Bus collection through eTrans, coming up on Saturday, Nov. 22. Through that effort, local residents are encouraged bring in items to help fill Thanksgiving food baskets for area families in need. It is set up outside Mar Val Main Street Market on McHenry Avenue, and the store offers shoppers a discount on items purchased specifically for the Stuff the Bus effort that day. Hours for the collection on Nov. 22 will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Everything donated stays here, in the community,” Vaden said of helping local families.
She said they are also always looking for volunteers to assist with the food pantry programs and efforts such as stocking the shelves and keeping the facility clean. Anyone interested can stop by the C.A.R.E. Center during its open hours or reach out to Vaden via phone, 209-417-2048.
“I love giving to the people and they so nice and they’re so thankful, they appreciate what we do for them,” Vaden said. “We try to make this a positive experience and it’s just heartwarming.”
