According to the County of Ventura’s latest homeless count, the population now living on the streets, in vehicles, along highways and in temporary housing rose by 25% during the pandemic.

That’s an increase of 451 adults and children to a total of 2,238 people.

In response, in late 2020 Food Share set up a “Kitchen-Free” program, providing bags of no cook food for people without access to a kitchen. The contents of the bags change slightly depending on availability of items but always include protein-rich foods like canned tuna or chicken, crackers, a pop-top soup, a pre-cooked cold entree, apple sauce and peanut butter.

To date, Food Share has provided just under 30,000 Kitchen-Free bags to our community partners that work directly with unhoused people.