Fresno Center continues giving food to families during pandemic

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The line of cars coming through the Fresno Center parking lot showed the need for food assistance hasn't declined six months after people started to quarantine at home.

Some people have returned to work, but CEO Pao Yang believed the number of food-insecure families continues to rise.

Yang said, "I think more so than ever. These are people that usually have jobs. These are folks that have kids at home and now that the kids are home, they're in need of more food. They're in need of support. They're unemployed and it's rough."

The center serves over 3,000 diverse residents in southeast Fresno, so the food boxes were customized and packed with staples for different ethnic groups.

Yang explained, "We know what our community needs so we have a Latino box. We have an Asian box and then we have a standard box."

A thousand boxes of food were handed out. Each held enough groceries to feed six people - one time.

Many families will try to make the food last a little longer if possible.

State Senator Melissa Hurtado, (D) Sanger, said, "The struggle is real for food insecurity and it was real before COVID and the need is greater now than ever."

The Fresno Center was able to secure CARES Act funding through the city to provide the boxes.

It seeks more funding to expand the giveaways beyond one day a week.