Ocean Beach Emergency Food, Inc.
Ocean Beach Emergency Food, Inc., also know as OB Loaves and Fishes, opened its doors in 1977 to address a growing need to provide food for hungry people in the Ocean Beach and Peninsula areas of San Diego. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the experienced pantry has altered operations to ensure the safety of their clients, volunteers, and staff, and in June 2020, they became the third Nutrition Pantry Program (NPP) site under UC San Diego Center for Community Health (CCH).
OB Loaves and Fishes and the NPP team began their work together with COVID-19 response, posting educational resources and providing needed sanitation tools. The partnership then turned to sustainability, with the pantry leadership and the NPP team working closely together to create a full Operations Manual for the site, including information ranging from emergency response to the distribution flow to food sources and donors.
In January 2021, during the site’s reassessment, the decision to pursue further PSE (policy, systems, and environmental changes) was made. The site is eager to reach Silver or Gold Certification through NPP founder’s Leah’s Pantry. To reach that goal, OB Loaves and Fishes has worked with the NPP team to adopt a Nutritious Food Policy, post Nutrition Education and Safety Signage, create and post directional signage on in-take processes and “menus” for food items and other resources. The site has also bundled food items and paired them with recipe cards for healthy full meals, and provided information to clients on other food resources in San Diego. Upcoming plans for the site include hosting a Safe Food Handling and Expiration Date refresher training for volunteers and staff and exploring options for other community connections.
The continued progress of OB Loaves and Fishes will take them to Sliver or Gold in no time! The NPP team looks forward to supporting their progress and is grateful to work with this outstanding pantry partner!
