Monica White speaks with MB Hanrahan about FoodShare, the regional food bank for Ventura County. The conversation focuses on the organization’s history, its scale of operations, and the vital role that volunteers play in its mission.
Core Operations and Impact
Scale: Food Share distributes approximately 21 million pounds of food annually, serving roughly 250,000 people.
Sourcing: Food is gathered from retail store rescues, local farmers, government commodities, and backyard “gleaning.” The organization also purchases about $2.5 million worth of food each year.
The “Free Costco”: Monica describes Food Share as a regional hub that supplies over 200 local nonprofit “pantry partners” who then distribute the food directly to those in need.
The Power of Volunteers
Human Capital: With only 40 paid staff members, the organization relies on 4,500 annual volunteers to function.
Daily Tasks: Volunteers are involved in every step of the chain, including:
Sorting and Packing: Creating produce boxes twice a day from various incoming sources.
Gleaning: Collecting leftover produce from people’s backyards and local orchards.
Drive-Thru Distributions: A legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, these large-scale events (such as at College Park in Oxnard) require up to 70 volunteers in a single day to load food directly into cars.
History and Future Growth
Origins: Founded in 1978 as “Food On Our Doorsteps” (F.O.O.D.), the group began by collecting leftover crops from fields to help Vietnam War veterans living under a local bridge.
Rapid Expansion: The organization quickly outgrew a two-car garage and a leased fire station. They have been in their current facility for 40 years but have now exceeded its capacity.
“The Jewel”: Food Share is currently building a brand-new, 12-acre facility dubbed “The Jewel” (named after founder Juel Petty). This new site is designed to double their capacity, with a vision to distribute 40 million pounds of food by the year 2040.
How to Help
Monica emphasizes three ways the community can support the mission:
Hours: Volunteering time for packing or distribution.
Dollars: Financial donations are highly effective, as the organization can buy five times more food per dollar than a regular consumer.
Food: Participating in or organizing food drives.
TV broadcast week beginning 03/22/26
Producer: George Alger
Sponsor: NONPROFIT FIRE, Google Ad Grants Community Building NonProfitFire.org
Sponsor: SKYWORKS MARKETING, Performance Advertising SkyworksMarketing.com