The Food Program at GCVF is critical to food insecure veterans in Ventura County. We have had a small food program since our doors opened but were able to expand the program in 2023 by entering a partnership with Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank. The new pilot agreement allows food-insecure veterans in Ventura County to have access to Manna’s free food pantry as needed year-round, in exchange for GCVF’s periodic food drive donations to Manna. GCVF’s Food Program is now composed of two critical components.
Food Assistance and Delivery
Through our new partnership, selected low-income Gold Coast Veterans are entered into Manna’s system and allowed to visit the food pantry year-round. Most of our veterans can visit the food pantry and select their food independently however, some of our most vulnerable veterans need assistance. To meet this need, GCVF added the Food Assistance and Delivery program. This updated program pairs volunteers with veterans who need assistance with transportation to and from the food pantry. Volunteers will drive the veteran from their home to Manna, assist with shopping as needed, and drive the veteran home. If the veteran is homebound, our volunteers will contact the veteran for a list of wanted/needed food items. Our volunteer will then go to Manna, collect the request food items, and deliver them to the veteran. If you would like to volunteer to be paired with a veteran in our Food Assistance and Delivery program, please contact the GCVF Volunteer Coordinator, Heather Winstead, at 805-482-6550.
“Hi! I’m Suzanne, and my husband of over 50 years is Douglas, a combat Army veteran (1967-1973) sent twice to Vietnam. Our financial situation changed after Douglas retired from his civilian job. We lost our house due to early signs of an illness affecting Douglas and we became homeless for 3 years, until Gold Coast Veterans Foundation helped us to find an apartment. Gold Coast staff and volunteers also moved us in and provided rides to appointments until we obtained our own car. We learned that Gold Coast takes care of its veterans and family members, and they never forget veterans like us who still need occasional help. Now that Gold Coast has partnered with Manna’s food pantry to help many veterans, we are able to pick up good food to eat. We still have a fixed, extremely tight income, and without Manna’s food pantry helping us, we would either have to choose between eating or paying bills. Because of Manna, we can now do both. Manna is so much better than other food pantries because other pantries just give food without you getting to choose. My husband now has mid-stage Alzheimer’s dementia, so he’s a picky eater and he won’t eat just anything. Manna lets us choose what we will actually eat, even offering brands we like, which is a huge difference from other pantries. Manna accommodates our needs because pantry staff greet and treat visitors as individual people, not just numbers in a line. Gold Coast and Manna together help veterans and families like our family. Thank-you for caring!”
Memorial Day and Veterans Day Food Drives
As part of our new partnership with Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank, GCVF conducts two food drives per year. During Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Gold Coast coordinates with several companies in the Ventura County area to host food collection bins onsite. GCVF keeps a portion of the food collected for direct distribution to our veterans. The remaining food is donated to Manna to help support our veterans who need Manna’s services.
If you would like to host a food collection bin during one of our upcoming food drives, please complete our online form and one of our volunteers will contact you within 5 business days.
If you would like to make a monetary donation to our Food Program, please click the Donate Now link at the top of the screen. Monetary donations to the Food Program will be used to purchase proteins and other fresh food for our veterans. Thank you for your support!
“We have been partnering with Gold Coast Veterans Foundation for several years by conducting food drives for Memorial and Veterans Day. Many of our employees here at JSL Technologies, Inc. are veterans and are always eager to provide support to other veterans. GCVF makes the donation process so easy. Not only do they provide and drop off the donation boxes, but they also pick up all donated items! We are proud to team up with such a wonderful organization that offers a wide variety of services for our local veterans’ community.”
– JSL Technologies, Inc.
Hear KHAY’s On-Air personality Dave Daniels’ interview with Dennis Murphy, CAPT USN Ret., Gold Coast Veterans Foundation’s Chairman of the Board. Dennis is a United States Naval Academy graduate and decorated Naval officer, who commanded the nuclear submarine USS Tucson SSN-770. After an illustrious military career, Captain Murphy joined biotechnology leader AMGEN, where he served in leadership positions for manufacturing and business performance. Never forsaking his fellow servicemen and servicewomen, Dennis serves as a volunteer Board Member and Board Chair of Gold Coast Veterans Foundation. Since 2019, Dennis has led the organization’s growth and transformation, from a small agency assisting veterans with VA benefit paperwork…to become the region’s largest and leading veteran nonprofit pioneering the first truly comprehensive and integrated model of care for American veterans.
OUR VETERAN FOOD PARTNERS
