San Jose nonprofits are food lifeline for Thanksgiving

Each year, the lines are long at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose, as people and cars queue up for nutritious boxed holiday meals.

From Monday to Wednesday, the nonprofit distributed approximately 3,500 free boxes of food. Each box, valued at $150, included a chicken, ham or turkey and all the fixings for the holiday meal, such as stuffing, potatoes and green beans.

Demone Carter, director of communications and special events for Sacred Heart, said providing food is necessary as the cost has risen significantly.

Poverty and food insecurity are ongoing problems in Santa Clara County, especially for homeless people and students. According to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, 1 in 14 people and 1 in 22 children face hunger. Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen said on its website that 1 in 4 people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and in Silicon Valley, 1 in 3 suffer from food insecurity.

Carter said Sacred Heart, which is in its 59th year, has seen a steady increase in the need for services. He said food insecurity can be especially stressful for families during the holidays.

“What we’re doing is vital,” he told San José Spotlight. “We see so much brokenness in our community and in the world. Every day that we’re open, we’re seeing 500 to 700 families in our food pantry.”

Carter said the work wouldn’t be possible without a team of 600 or more volunteers around Thanksgiving. He said it’s all part of the nonprofit’s vision of a community united to end poverty.

“While we’re serving the community, we’re giving other folks who may be more fortunate an opportunity to come and be in community with their neighbors,” Carter said, “and see poverty beyond statistics.”

Resident Sakbema Buhaina, 67, considers Sacred Heart a godsend.

“What does it mean to me? Everything,” she told San José Spotlight. “For people who are homeless or down on their luck… this place is the best. If it wasn’t for them, I would be dead.”

Carter said corporate partners are finally returning and this is the first year since COVID-19 hit that volunteer numbers have risen to pre-pandemic levels.

“We get it done,” he said. “We have a great staff and group of volunteers.”

Some people have volunteered at Sacred Heart for decades, Carter said, and former clients have come back to volunteer.

Maria Gallardo, organizing manager of Family Support Network at Sacred Heart, started out as a client and worked there for 22 years. Her children attended Sacred Heart’s educational programs and later volunteered as teaching assistants.

“We grew up here,” she told San José Spotlight. “Sacred Heart is my family.”

Mike Murray, who has volunteered with Sacred Heart for about 19 years, said clients are grateful. He said the savings in food costs let families afford rent and utilities—including heat in the winter—and prevent them from becoming homeless.

Resident Nga Maidens donated eight turkeys to the Thanksgiving food drive.

“I just want to give back to the community,” she told San José Spotlight. “I wish everybody would donate more to help families in need. Everybody is going through tough times.”

Bill Lee, executive director of Martha’s Kitchen, told San José Spotlight the food need locally and statewide is staggering. He said Martha’s Kitchen served nearly 75,000 meals this week, including 40,000 Thanksgiving meals, through its Silicon Valley partners.

“Thanksgiving’s a time when many Americans stop and reflect on their blessings,” he told San José Spotlight. “But (food) is a year-round need. There are a lot of people that are just barely hanging on with a roof over their heads. One in five in California struggle with getting enough to eat.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].