Help Change the way San Diego Families get Food

What if a food pantry felt more like a grocery store?   That was the question that started the foundation for Porchlight Community Services. Started by a single mom, with grassroots volunteers who wanted to create a better way for people to access food.

San Diego is one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Many working families earn too much to qualify for traditional assistance yet still struggle with grocery costs. For people with food allergies or specialized diets, finding affordable food they can safely eat adds another challenge.

Our grocery-style model gives community members the ability to choose what works for their household. At the same time, surplus food from local businesses is rescued and put back into circulation. Food that cannot be distributed fresh is dehydrated, upcycled, composted, or otherwise diverted from the landfill. This is where food access, food rescue, sustainability, and food waste reduction come together.

Porchlight is one of only a small number of food pantries in the United States intentionally serving people with food allergies and specialized diets through a grocery-style model.

You can be part of it; your donations can help keep the infrastructure behind that work running, from covering the refrigerated transportation and storage to specialized foods, equipment, and food safety supplies.

If you believe good food should feed people instead of filling landfills, that families deserve choice, or that people with dietary restrictions should not be left out, you can help keep this small, grassroots effort growing in San Diego.

One person started it. People kept showing up. That's the Power of One.