
Our work on behalf of Conejo Valley Families is ongoing. 2025 has brought new challenges. Many Latinos, regardless of their immigration status, are afraid to be in public, especially in places where people gather. We have moved our entire Marketplace at Conejo food distribution inside the campus gates in order to provide greater security for those picking up food and for our many Latino volunteers. We want everyone to be safe and feel safe.
The number of families seeking help grew slowly over the summer, then October brought new fears for hard working families as news spread that SNAP-EBT benefits would not be funded in November. We had a 20% increase in participation at our October 25th Marketplace.
Our close relationships with local organizations and agencies makes it possible to provide families with amazing fresh fruits and vegetables and a wide variety of grocery items that anyone would want to provide to their own family. At the October Community Free Marketplace, we ran out of almost everything and provided the last few families with grocery gift cards to help close the gap.
We use your donations to purchase items that are sought after by the families who come to our food distributions, foods that are often not available through our agency connections, like corn tortillas, cheese, eggs, and chicken.
Beyond food support, we are including Latino community members, as leaders and volunteers, all of us helping Conejo Valley residents who are facing rising prices for essentials on inadequate wages.
Your donation allows us to continue to say Yes! when we are asked for help. ¡Gracias!