The Silicon Valley, renowned for its affluence, is witnessing a surge in the demand for food assistance, exemplified by the lengthy queues of cars forming outside a local charity on Thursdays.
Crossroad Calvary Church, situated in San Jose, finds itself grappling with the escalating need for sustenance, a reality echoed by the sentiments of volunteers who remark on the consistent growth in demand.
Volunteer Julia Wong elucidated, “From one month or one week to the next, it just seems to grow.”
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the chapel extended aid to approximately 80 families weekly. However, in the wake of COVID-19, this figure has ballooned, now catering to the needs of 650 families.
For families like Dina Rendon’s, the weekly provision of food boxes offered by the church serves as a lifeline, despite the perceptible decrease in the box’s contents.
Volunteers lament the dwindling donations, a circumstance that has necessitated the alteration of the box contents, which once included a whole chicken alongside eggs and milk.
Notably, the elongated queue observed on Thursday coincided with record-breaking numbers in the stock market, a contrast not lost on Sacred Heart Community Service, located elsewhere in the vicinity.
