Drive-thru food pantry in Southern California food desert provides consistent source of groceries for thousands: “It’s a labor of love”

It may be the longest line in Southern California.

But when those drivers pull up to the front, there are no windows, fast food, or even cash registers.

Instead, each car is met by a troop of volunteers, who efficiently place packages of fresh produce and two weeks' worth of groceries in the trunk, all for free.

This is the Seva Collective's food pantry in Santa Ana, California, a food desert, a geographic area where residents struggle to consistently access nutritious food.

Born at a crucial moment of need at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this organization began as a scrappy operation: a handful of volunteers, food and toys purchased by the organizers themselves, and a dream to help a community make facing food insecurity. .

“When we first started, we were driving to the food market in downtown LA, we were going to central California to pick citrus fruits — we were all over the place,” said Seva Collective founder Bandana Singh.

Four million meals later, the Seva Collective has continued to grow, incorporating new volunteers, collaborating with food banks, businesses and farms, and organizing special collections of toys and clothes.

“Our goal is to get fresh food as well as shelf-stable food into the car or cart of every family that drives by,” Singh said. “We have cars lined up as early as three or four in the morning; we don't start the ride until 9:30 in the morning. So to us, as a team of volunteers, it tells us there's a need and we want to do whatever. we can.”

The initiative has become a community staple that nearby residents rely on month after month to feed their families, said longtime recipient Jody Watts.

“It takes away a sense of fear and a sense of anxiety about not having enough food to supply the family,” Watts said.

Although many, like Watts, have been coming to the pantry for years, each month brings new faces, like Laura Castro who heard about the Seva collective through her children's school.

“Because I have five kids, it's helping me,” Castro said. “I hope my children [leave here] with a big smile on his face.”

While their main goal is to feed people in need, Seva Collective emphasizes delivering fresh produce and unprocessed food to those in line to encourage healthy habits and curb systemic health issues in this desert community. food, Singh said.

Food deserts are most common in black and brown communities and low-income areas, and often have an overabundance of fast-food chains and corner stores that sell processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt, according to the Food Empowerment Project .

“We know that if they don't consume fresh food, they will consume junk and then that's a systemic problem that leads to health problems,” Singh said. “Such small steps now can help future generations and everyone's health as they continue to age.”

Although the volunteers and recipients come from many different backgrounds, the Sikh faith of the founders inspired the creation of the organization.

The name “Seva” comes from the concept of selfless service in the Sikh faith. And their slogan, “Sarbat da Bhalla”, is a prayer for all mankind to prosper and inspires Sikhs to do good to all.

And that's what this group is doing.

Every month, the Seva Collective distributes 60,000 kilos of food to more than 1,200 families.

In its most recent campaign, the organization also distributed toys, books and clothing, partnering with brands like Young LA.

The special gift bags were given in celebration of Vaisakhi, one of the most religiously significant days of the year for Sikhs. It marks the birth of the Khalsa Panth and the recognition of Sikhs as a formal faith and community.

“We're celebrating Vaisakhi, which is when we became the collective that we are, and that's why we want to share that with the community. We want everyone to be able to celebrate with us,” Kaur said.

In addition to providing food, toys and other basic necessities, the organization has passed on the spirit of paying it forward. Watts, who has even volunteered with Seva Collective, said she tries to use what she gets from the drive to feed others in her community.

“It's made me feel like I can come back,” Watts said. “I would never have had the means to help anyone else. I'm recently disabled and having the extra food, and I love to cook, has made it possible for me to go to the homeless in my neighborhood and feed them.”

“If there's something we don't use, we also give it to someone else,” said Charlene, another recipient. “We try to help our neighbors.”

What is perhaps most remarkable about the whole operation are the volunteers who show up before sunrise, and days in advance, to make this drive happen, with nothing in return. Over 500 unique volunteers have come forward to help over the years, rain or shine.

“It's a labor of love, but I know when you see the cars and the number of cars and the number of people in line … it has an impact, a positive impact on the community,” said William Tarango, a teacher who has volunteered. with the Seva Group for three and a half years. “It's nice to be around people who just want to serve, who just want to help.”

For some volunteers, like Shilpa Chitoori, coming early to prepare for the drive and interacting with others working there is energizing.

“It's a form of meditation for me because being around this whole group of amazing people and working here, you know, what better way to spend a Saturday morning than that,” Chitoori said.

Marsha Mehta, who has been taking her children to volunteer at the drives since the pandemic, says that while the pantry helps those in line, it has also had a lasting impact on the way her children see the world .

“The first time we came, my oldest son was here during COVID, and he saw how grateful everyone was coming through the food lines, and that really impressed him,” Mehta said. “I think this is such an important thing to do.”

Singh says this initiative has given him a chance to feel gratitude and humility, adding that none of this would be possible without the Army volunteers who choose to spend their Saturday mornings filling each trunk with food.

“I feel fortunate to work with these types of people throughout the year, and I feel blessed that we get to help the families that come out,” Singh said. “There are so many emotions.”