Life Science Cares San Diego Partners with Feeding San Diego and the Local Life Sciences Community to Collect Thousands of Pounds of Food Through its Annual Summer Food Drive

474 pounds of food collected to support children and families facing food insecurity across San Diego County

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Life Science Cares (LSC) San Diego, a nonprofit organization activating the financial, human and social capital of the life sciences industry and partnering with local nonprofits to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequity throughout its communities, hosted its fourth annual summer food drive in partnership with Feeding San Diego and more than 40 local life science leaders on Wednesday, June 10. The initiative resulted in the collection of 474 pounds of food, helping to support families experiencing food insecurity across San Diego County during the summer months.

The food drive brought together dozens of volunteers from across the local life sciences community to donate, sort and package food at Feeding San Diego’s headquarters. The effort builds on LSC San Diego’s continued commitment to addressing basic needs through community partnerships and volunteer engagements.

“The success of this year’s summer food drive reflects the incredible commitment of the San Diego life sciences community to showing up for our community,” said Alicia Kitagawa, Executive Director of Life Science Cares San Diego. “By coming together to contribute time and resources, we’re able to make a tangible impact for families experiencing food insecurity, particularly during the summer months when access to meals can be more limited. Our partnership with Feeding San Diego also continues to be instrumental in expanding access to nutritious food across the region.”

Key outcomes of the food drive and volunteer event include:

• 474 pounds of food collected, equating to approximately 568 meals
• Over 40 volunteers engaged from the local life sciences community
• 1,765 pounds of plums sorted for distribution to community members in need
• 430 meal boxes assembled for home delivery to children in East County, each box containing 14 meals

“We’re grateful to partner with Life Science Cares San Diego and the broader life sciences community to help ensure families across the region have access to the nutritious food they need,” said Bob Kamensky, CEO of Feeding San Diego “Initiatives like LSC’s annual summer food drive are critical, particularly during the summer months when many children lose access to school meals. The collective effort and generosity shown here make a meaningful difference for the individuals and families we serve every day.”

This year’s food drive follows the recent expansion of LSC San Diego’s partnership with Feeding San Diego, marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new school pantry at Encanto Elementary School. Through its $150,000 investment to Feeding San Diego’s School Pantry Program, including $50,000 dedicated to Encanto Elementary, the organizations are helping provide access to nutritious food across the region. The Encanto Elementary pantry alone is expected to serve more than 200 local households each month, helping ensure students and families have consistent access to healthy meals.

About Life Science Cares San Diego

Life Science Cares San Diego is a collective effort to activate the financial and human capital of the region’s life sciences industry – and partner with nonprofits – to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequality in our communities. The organization helps solve societal problems through active caring, combining grants with supportive services such as volunteerism, thought leadership and industry expertise. Since 2021, the organization has generated substantial grants, gifts, education, leadership interaction, and community engagement. For more information, please visit https://lifesciencecares.org/san-diego/.

About Feeding San Diego

Feeding San Diego is a non-profit organization on a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. Established in 2007, Feeding San Diego rescues surplus food from local and national food donors before it goes to waste and gets it to people facing hunger in San Diego County. It is the only Feeding America partner food bank in the region. Last year, the hunger-relief organization provided more than 31 million meals to children, families, seniors, college students, military families, and veterans in partnership with a network of more than 350 local charities, schools, colleges, faith communities, healthcare providers, and meal sites. It operates a multitude of hunger-relief and food programs countywide that support people facing hunger with food assistance or resources. Last year, 90% percent of the food distributed by Feeding San Diego was rescued, allowing high-quality food to be redirected instead of going to waste. By diverting more than 32.6 million pounds of food from the landfill each year and using it to feed people facing hunger, Feeding San Diego helps avert 28,986 metric tons of CO2 from being emitted, protecting people and the planet. Every $1 donated helps provide two meals to people facing hunger. To get involved with Feeding San Diego and learn more about its mission, visit feedingsandiego.org. Get daily updates on social media by following us on Instagram @feedingsandiego.