Caring Cupboard
The Caring Cupboard
Provides Low-Income San Carlos Residents With Free Groceries
Tuesday is a very busy day for the Caring Cupboard food program. On Tuesday, food is collected, packaged, and distributed to low-income San Carlos residents. An astounding 2,500 pounds of food is picked up or delivered to program participants every Tuesday.
In 1991, the Caring Cupboard program was founded to fight food insecurity for San Carlos seniors. Local service clubs—Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis—combined efforts and created the San Carlos Service Club for Seniors to facilitate the program. Caring Cupboard partnered with the City of San Carlos Parks and Recreation Department to base its operations at the San Carlos Adult Community Center.
During the pandemic, the scope of those served by Caring Cupboard grew when San Carlos expanded the program to assist all residents who meet the financial and residential requirements. Pre-pandemic, the program served 25 seniors, now 80 households, equaling 180 individuals, receive groceries of dry goods, produce, dairy and protein products to supplement their food supply.
Everyone who meets Caring Cupboard’s food assistance requirements is accepted into the program. An influx of applicants hits around the holidays. To help meet the additional demand, Caring Cupboard sponsors a community food drive for the holidays and collected a generous two thousand pounds of food last November from the community.
Caring Cupboard beneficiaries receive free weekly groceries every Tuesday and are offered chef-prepared lunches four days each week. Recipients stop by the Adult Community Center to pick up grocery bags packed for singles, couples, and families. Lunches are available Tuesday through Friday, with 400 to 500 lunches distributed weekly to Caring Cupboard participants.
Caring Cupboard is operated by Adult Community Center staff and a dedicated team of volunteers. Caring Cupboard receives food donations from food banks and grocery stores, but it still has some ongoing costs. In 2024, Caring Cupboard received a two thousand-dollar grant from the Community Foundation of San Carlos. These funds go toward grocery store gift cards of $60 to $175 to help families and seniors cover food expenses during Caring Cupboard’s two-week holiday closure. The San Carlos Service Club for Seniors pools donations from service club members to purchase supplemental groceries throughout the year, and a Sequoia Healthcare District grant funds free lunches for program participants through the Adult Community Center Curbside Lunch Program.
A dedicated volunteer base runs Caring Cupboard. About twenty community volunteers and service club members show up weekly to pack grocery bags full of food. Caring Cupboard Volunteer Coordinator and Lions Club Member Michael Coffaro says, “I retired before COVID and felt I could do something beneficial for the community.” Retirees and other caring individuals volunteer to find a sense of purpose and be amongst friends. “Volunteers get started and don’t want to leave,” says Michael.
The program doesn’t have a problem retaining and recruiting new volunteers. Word of mouth remains the most reliable source for new volunteers. Volunteers become lifelong friends, often hanging out after their shifts and getting lunch together.
Volunteers are also Caring Cupboard’s eyes and ears. They identify people in the community who could benefit from the program and encourage them to apply for assistance. Caring Cupboard’s four volunteer drivers, who deliver food to homebound program participants, also make informal welfare checks. Drivers are often one of the few people homebound seniors see regularly. Michael remembers bringing books to someone who needed reading material to help them pass the time. Volunteer drivers often inform Adult Community Center staff about participants who may need additional support, enabling staff to provide assistance and connect them with necessary resources.
The grocery items Caring Cupboard distributes come from a few different sources. The program collects perishable meat, dairy, and produce and non-perishables of boxed and canned foods. Many staples come from the Second Harvest Food Bank. Every other week, Michael is allowed to “shop” certain items at the food bank because there are restrictions due to low supply.
Another way Caring Cupboard collects food is through a grocery rescue partnership with Trader Joe’s. Grocery store donations to the program divert food from being thrown away and redistribute it so it doesn’t go to waste. Trader Joe’s supplies food staples as well as fun items like fresh-cut flowers, seasonal holiday items like peppermint candies, and even a container of delicious salmon. If Caring Cupboard needs additional meat, dairy, or produce, volunteers shop for deals at Safeway and Grocery Outlet.
If you have a neighbor who might benefit from receiving free weekly groceries, contact the Caring Cupboard program so they can get in touch with them. One of Caring Cupboard’s most significant hurdles is people not knowing about the program. Their social media ads and City of San Carlos newsletter notices might not reach non-tech audiences or those who don’t speak English. Word-of-mouth referrals are often the best route to getting new program participants signed up.
The community can also support Caring Cupboard by donating unexpired non-perishable food items to the San Carlos Adult Community Center during business hours, Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Donations of paper bags for packing groceries are always in demand, as hundreds are used each week. Caring Cupboard also accepts checks made out to “San Carlos Service Club for Seniors” for purchasing fresh food items.
For information on how to apply for assistance or donate to the program, please visit the Caring Cupboard webpage.
$2,000 granted for continued operational and programming support (Fall 2024)
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$5,000 granted to the San Carlos Service Club for Seniors (aka Caring Cupboard) who provide free weekly groceries to low-income San Carlos residents; funds will be used to cover expenses for the week of Dec 25-31st when the city government is closed (Fall 2023).