Ventura—The City Council, during its Tuesday, July 14, meeting, heard an update about the State of Hunger in Ventura County and in the City of Ventura from Food Share Ventura County President and CEO Monica White.
SHE said they've been serving Ventura County for 50 years, which started in a two-car garage with friends.
"They needed to take care of some neighbors who had been living under an overpass right here in Ventura," she said. "They moved to the City of Saticoy by the City of Ventura for $1 a month."
They outgrew that facility and moved into their current facility, where they have been for the last 40 years.
White displayed a picture of how Food Share began.
"The volunteers went into the fields and gleaned excess produce, fruit, and anything they were able to give to their neighbors," she said. "The tractors followed the volunteers, and they were running to collect as much food as they could."
Volunteers gleaned 34,000 pounds of food during their first year, and she said in 2025, they distributed 23 million pounds of food.
"That's a lot of food, but there has been a lot of progress," she said.
"Food comes from a variety of sources at Food Share," she continued.…
