Food Program

Bread Room
The Bread Room is located on-site and provides bread products and fruits and vegetables to approximately 819 households each month. There is no registration or income certification required; recipients are only required to sign their name, and to provide the number of persons in their family and basic demographic information. The Bread Room is entirely volunteer-operated, and is staffed from 11 A.M to 2 P.M., Monday through Friday.

Emergency Food Pantry
The Emergency Food Pantry (EFP) is continually stocked with donations from the community and distributes over 1,200 grocery bags of food each year. Case managers can disperse emergency food packages with Food Pantry non-perishable items on an as-needed basis. Through the Food Pantry, case managers also work with the clients to identify additional needs such as medical treatment, mental health service, and affordable housing and child care.

USDA Commodities Program
The USDA Commodities Program provides food staples, such as pasta, cheese, canned goods, peanut butter, and cereal to income-eligible clients who can demonstrate residence in Encinitas or Carlsbad. Approximately 30 households receive Commodities each month. Through work with the San Diego Food Bank, families receive this distribution on the third Tuesday of every month. Community Resource Center distributes commodities at the Encinitas office, and is also the administrative agency for the Carlsbad commodities program at Pilgrim Church.

Food Stamp Application Assistance
Community Resource Center’s newest initiative is the certified Food Stamp Assistance Program, which provides Food Stamp outreach and application assistance to residents who may be eligible to receive Food Stamps, but have either chosen not to register, or have had barriers to their registration attempts. According to a 2006 Food Research and Action Center study, just 27 percent of eligible San Diego County residents receive Food Stamps, and only 4 percent of eligible Encinitas residents participate in the program.

For the Food Stamp Assistance Program, CRC coordinates with Senior Centers and Head Starts, and reaches out to low-income Social Services clients from CRC and other areas in the community, such as schools, to conduct outreach to potentially eligible Food Stamp residents. In fall 2007, CRC hired a bilingual Food Program Coordinator, who helps CRC to further reach out to the local, Food Stamp-eligible, Latino residents.

Social Services Program Manager – Filipa Rios, MPA
Phone: (760) 753-8300, ext. 1310
Email: frios@crcncc.org