Gardena Genesis S.D.A Church
Non-profit organization
ABOUT US
The Full Story
Gardena Genesis originally began a food bank for church members in 1994. Mama Rosa's Food Pantry was later established in 2015 to help feed the community and has seen increased traffic in response to COVID-19’s global impact. We are blessed at the Gardena Genesis Community Church to have Mama Rosa's Pantry and our wonderful team of food bank volunteers. Our main objective is to serve each person with the love of Jesus Christ. Here, you will meet a team mixed with members of the SDA Church, LDS Church and members of the community.
Our pantry is open every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 12:00pm to 2:00 pm, or until all food is distributed. Recipients do not pay for any food received and remain in their vehicles to protect both our community members and volunteers from airborne transmission. To feed the large number of families, we operate in an assembly line fashion. Vehicles line up outside the church prior to opening. As they enter our back-parking lot, our volunteers grab prepackaged boxes of food and place them inside the vehicles' trunks. This continues until the last vehicle comes through our gates.
Since the pandemic began, we have served over 700 people in every distribution and have strong practices in both food handling and COVID-19 protection protocol (in lieu with frequently changing CDC Guidelines). We are here to serve our community with all the resources available to our local church. Together we are a church family trying to put something on the tables for those who may need it most.
OUR MISSION
Giving Food to the Hungry
Our Food Bank's mission is to provide adequate supplies of food for families impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. With these past years proving to be especially difficult, our food bank hosts a contactless pick-up system that reduces exposure and feeds 3-4 family members. With the uncertainty of the pandemic’s duration, we hope to continue being a member of the community that families can rely on for their food resources.