A steady stream of low-income families and homeless members of
the community filter in and out of St. Joseph’s Family Center to
collect their daily or weekly allotment of food.
Sara suddes – staff writer
A steady stream of low-income families and homeless members of the community filter in and out of St. Joseph’s Family Center to collect their daily or weekly allotment of food. For 30 years, St. Joseph’s has provided Gilroyans in need with an array of services, from food to help finding work to transportation, always with warm smiles and giving hearts.
Fueled largely by volunteers and a small staff, the center serves thousands of community members in need each month. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, the center is preparing holiday boxes filled with turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings to be distributed Nov. 19 and 20. Thanksgiving donations have flooded in from major grocers and local farmers but the need exists yearlong.
“There is a heightened awareness during the holidays but there is truly a year round need,” said David Cox, executive director of the center. “It’s a challenge we throw out there.”
Throughout the year, St. Joseph’s welcomes donations of baby food, baby formula milk, and other nonperishables. During the holidays, the center particularly needs more turkeys. Donors can also purchase a $10 grocery bag at Nob Hill Foods to donate to St. Joseph’s.
St. Joseph’s started as an outreach program under the auspices of St. Mary Catholic Church. As the family center continued to grow over the years, the need to become an independent entity was obvious.
Although St. Joseph’s has been legally separated from the church since 2001, the history and culture of the church and the family center are very much entwined. In addition to St. Mary’s support, the center receives assistance from eight other churches in the community in the form of volunteers and donations.
“St. Mary’s is very kind as far as providing space to operate,” Cox said.
Vicky Martin, food distribution coordinator, started off as a volunteer at St. Joseph’s when her son performed a community service project at the center.
“You get to know their faces,” Martin said of the families that benefit from the center, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in South County. “Everyone is extremely appreciative.”
St. Joseph’s distributes brown bag lunches to 50 homeless members of the community every day and serves 900 extremely low-income families a month with nutritious, balanced food baskets to supplement their diet. Additionally, the Lord’s Table Hot Meals Program, held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evening in the St. Mary School gym, offers nutritionally balanced hot meals to the homeless.
In order to take advantage of these programs, participants must meet three qualifications: show identification in order to open a file at the center and receive a food card, have proof of residence in either San Martin or Gilroy, and provide proof of income.
“Most are working but this is their only source of food,” Martin said. Unfortunately, after many families pay their rent and regular monthly bills, little money is left over for nutritious food.
“I’ve been coming here for years when I need it,” said Rosalie Vasquez, who supplements her family’s diet with St. Joseph’s food baskets. “When there’s not enough, there’s not enough so I come to St. Joseph’s. It helps throughout the whole year but especially during Christmas and Thanksgiving.”
Some families just come seasonally and St. Joseph’s sees an influx in the winter when many migrant farm workers don’t have work, Cox said.
“When my work cuts my hours back, I come more often,” said Teofila Juarez, who works in a cannery in Morgan Hill. Juarez is a single mother caring for the six members of her family. She is also diabetic and encounters many health issues and turns to St. Joseph’s in times of need.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the center and about 50 people donate their time to St. Joseph’s every month. Martin said some volunteers, like Bob Schultens who she refers to as “the backbone of St. Joseph’s,” have been at the center for years and donate their time religiously.
“It’s pretty crazy and fast paced,” said Cindy Morsilli, a volunteer who has been helping at St. Joseph’s once a week for the past four years. “There’s a big line and it’s very cheerful. There’s a warm feeling of being happy to help and it’s very enriching.”
