Martha’s Kitchen, a 40-year-old organization based in San Jose, has now expanded its free food distribution program to the Pajaro Valley.
The nonprofit began in 1981 when Louise Benson, dubbed “The Mother Teresa of San Jose,” began making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to the poor out of her garage. Eventually the operation grew enough to move to a nearby church, where she gathered a group of friends to prepare hot meals.
Since then, the organization has continued to expand, partnering with other nonprofits in Santa Clara County, as well as parts of Merced, San Benito, Fresno, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
And now they have settled in Watsonville.
“It was the natural next step,” said Executive Director Bill Lee. “Demand for food has doubled this past year because of the pandemic. We understand the need is there.”
Martha’s Kitchen has moved into the former United Presbyterian Church, 112 East Beach St., which closed its doors in January 2020. The organization has been utilizing the building’s large kitchen and spacious social haul to store, pack and prepare food to give out Fridays between 5 and 6pm.
The first drive-thru distribution was held Jan. 29, and has already grown exponentially. On Feb. 5, people were lining up half an hour prior to opening. Operations Manager Darren Bartholomew, Head Chef Jose Garcia and Line Cook Brad Gremban handed out 200 hot meals and almost 60 boxes of fresh produce and other food.
“We are constantly getting more calls all the time from people all over the region,” said Development Director Ryan Van Den Heuvel. “We are doing our best to meet that need.”
Unlike many other distributions, Martha’s Kitchen does not require anyone to sign up or show any sort of identification to pick up food. This “no questions asked” approach helps people feel more at ease, Van Den Heuvel said.
“No matter if you’re unemployed, homeless, a struggling teacher… we’ll give you what you need,” he said.
Added Lee: “Some might be worried about people ‘double-dipping.’ My answer to that is, if they are… they probably need it. We don’t care—people deserve food. It’s a basic necessity, like air or water.”
The food from Martha’s Kitchen is gathered in a number of different ways, including in-kind donations, funding for shopping at grocery stores and partnering with other organizations. Lee said they have had a long relationship with Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Willy Elliott-McCrea, helping with distributions in other parts of the county.
The food boxes they offer are full of fresh, healthy ingredients. They also hand out cooking staples such as jugs of olive oil and bags of rice. For the hot meals, they will make either fresh or frozen meals to distribute themselves or deliver to other organizations.
Martha’s Kitchen in Watsonville is looking for volunteers to help at the Friday distributions. Bartholomew said they are hoping to have at least eight people every Friday to form an assembly line for the prepared meals and load boxes into cars’ trunks. Spanish speakers are desired but not required.
For information on how to volunteer visit their website.
“Having good, healthy food is vital,” Lee said. “Living here, so close to Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest places in the world… We shouldn’t be letting anyone go hungry.”
Martha’s Kitchen distributes food every Friday 5-6pm in the back parking lot of United Presbyterian Church, 112 East Beach St., which is accessed via Trafton Street.
