On a monthly basis, our volunteers distribute nutritious food, household items, and diapers to individuals, churches, nonprofits and schools. Using our warehouse, we act as a hub to funnel our resources to others who can then target communities in need.  We receive the food and diapers from CAP OC Food Bank. 

Once a month and by appointment, anyone in need can stop by our warehouse food pantry to receive food, diapers, household products. Churches and organizations are invited to direct their neighbors in need to visit our food pantry or they can send a volunteer to pick up food for their neighbors in need.

FOCUS Orange County hosts large distributions at various churches and schools in Orange County where there is a substantial need for food and other essential items.  Utilizing our resources at these distributions, the churches invite their parishioners to serve alongside FOCUS Orange County to help parishioners and surrounding neighbors in need.

FOCUS Orange County is approved to distribute The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in 27 service areas in Orange County through CAP OC Food Bank.  TEFAP is a federal program that supplements the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost to the food recipient.  The United States Department of Agriculture provides 100% American grown foods and administrative funds to states to operate TEFAP.  TEFAP recipients must self-certify they meet the 2023 TEFAP Income Guidelines and write their name, address and household size on our signup sheet at each monthly distribution.

TEFAP is a program we are working to greatly expand in Orange County.  With the current decrease to Cal Fresh program participants along with the endless rising inflation, there will be many more vulnerable people in need of nutritional and sustaining foods from TEFAP – fresh produce, dairy, frozen meats and a great assortment of non-perishable foods.  Our warehouse and refrigeration serve to store the TEFAP food until time of distribution.   Our refrigerated truck will allow our volunteers to deliver and distribute the food to our various TEFAP distributions.

We currently distribute food from TEFAP to 72 families from the Westminster School District once a month at their district location.  The school district identifies families in need and school volunteers work alongside our volunteers to greet and distribute this food. Westminster School District is comprised of 17 schools and 80% of their students qualify for free lunches.  FOCUS Orange County is working with the district to expand TEFAP to more Westminster School District families in 2023.

We are working with the Capistrano Unified School District to begin distributing TEFAP at their schools.  This district is comprised of over 55 schools and alternative education programs.  We anticipate distributing at one school in August/September and expanding the TEFAP to other district schools soon thereafter.

TEFAP offers more than 120 nutritious foods, including dried beans, canned frozen, fresh & dried fruits, canned & frozen vegetables, fruit/vegetable juices, eggs, meat (when available), poultry, fish, nuts, milk and cheese, and whole-grain and enriched grain products, including rice, cereal, and pasta. 

FOCUS Orange County will soon apply to become an agency with Second Harvest Food Bank in Irvine, the other food bank in Orange County besides CAP OC in Garden Grove.  This partnership will allow us to distribute TEFAP in the remaining service areas in Orange County.

FOCUS Orange County volunteers serve one Saturday each month at CAP OC warehouse to prepare food boxes that the food bank then distributed to senior citizens in need of food.   The food bank is short staffed and relies on volunteers to pack over 25,000 boxes each month.  

Over the past few years, FOCUS Orange County has cultivated a robust relationship with the CAP OC Food Bank. By bringing FOCUS volunteers to help at the Food Bank – especially during the first year of the pandemic when other companies scaled back their volunteerism – and by coordinating the distribution of donated food, FOCUS Orange County has become a top partner agency of the CAP OC Food Bank. In 2021 and 2022, the CAP OC Food Bank nominated FOCUS Orange County to receive One OC’s Spirit of Volunteerism Award in recognition of our work in the community.

FOCUS Orange County receives around 150 handmade wooden kid’s toys from the Orange County Woodworkers Association and around 100 new unwrapped toys from local churches, donors and from Giving Children Hope. We deliver and distribute the toys to children in need in low-income areas, children of sex trafficking survivors, and children of low-income families identified by local school principals.