Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

MECCA CA – For the past 260 Friday mornings, families start to arrive at 6:00 AM, some as early 4:00 AM, to get in line to receive groceries handed out by Catholic Charities volunteers. Most of those in line are migrant workers in the Coachella Valley who pick the crops that feed America's families but often do not have enough food to feed their own families. The goal of the Mecca project is to supplement the income of the working poor by providing nutritious groceries on a weekly basis.

“The need never ends”, said Sr. Monessa Overby, OSF, a Franciscan Sister who has volunteered at the Mecca project for the last four years. “We know it is not enough food for a week, but we hope it will last for four days.” According to the 2000 Census, Mecca, a farm worker community located in the heart of the vegetable and fruit growing area of Coachella Valley is the second poorest community in the United States. The project also delivers food to families in the community of North Shore near the Salton Sea. Because of low wages and inconsistent work, weekly groceries are vital to the health of the families served.

“At the end of 2003, a group of citizens from Mecca came to me with grave concerns about food for their families,” said Ken F. Sawa, Executive Director of Catholic Charities. “They asked if Catholic Charities might provide some real help to the community of Mecca – not just talk. I had no doubt that Catholic Charities was the organization to address this major need in the Eastern Coachella Valley. We just needed to figure out how to make it happen.”

Thus was born the Eastern Coachella Valley Food Distribution Program or the “Mecca Project” as it is known. The Mecca Project started distributing food on December 17, 2004 from the Our Lady of Guadalupe Family Center. The project immediately began serving approximately 200 families each week. In those first months of the project, approximately 1,000 adults and children benefited from the project each week. Now, when work is scarce, the project serves over 550 families consisting of approximately 1,750 individuals - most of them children. The Eastern Coachella Valley Food Distribution Program is primarily a volunteer effort – many from St. Francis of Assisi in La Quinta. The project began with 20 volunteers and has expanded to 104.

Behind this extraordinary challenge of getting food to this isolated community is a well organized partnership. Key partners in the food outreach effort include FIND Food Bank, churches in the valley, generous private donors, schools, and community service groups. The project is focused on the need to provide food for a healthy diet. During the picking season, the project obtains fresh fruits and vegetables through a partnership with Hidden Harvest. “The Mecca Project is a perfect example of those who have resources and are eager to share them with those who have much less. People are sharing what they have – their time, money, talent – to help others”, said Sawa.

According to Sr. Kay Wagner, the coordinator of the food outreach effort, “We now serve nearly 4,500 households a year, which amounts to well over 65,000 adults and children that benefit from the project over the course of the year. Over the past five years, the project has easily helped over 10,000 families”.
The food for the project is obtained primarily from FIND Food Bank. FIND is affiliated with Second Harvest, which is a nationwide organization that distributes food provided by USDA, national donations, and local donations. The USDA food is free.

For additional information or to find how you can help, contact Sr. Kay at Catholic Charities at (760) 568-5101.