The Food Initiative of Greater Stanislaus

10/30/2026

❤️ When a community comes together, 200 families feel the love. 🧡

This Thanksgiving, we are celebrating the generosity and heart of for helping make a meaningful difference in our community!

Through the support of Premier Society, Club W and Phenos, 200 local families will receive Thanksgiving food boxes, bringing a little more joy, comfort, and togetherness to their holiday tables. 🦃🥦

To , Club W, and Phenos, thank you for turning generosity into action and reminding us that the greatest impact happens when we show up for one another.

At FIGS, we are grateful to have partners who believe in nourishing our neighbors and strengthening our community. 💚

200 families. One shared purpose. A whole lot of gratitude.

10/30/2026

💚 A LITTLE GENEROSITY GOES A LONG WAY!

Today, we want to take a moment to recognize and extend our heartfelt gratitude to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for their incredibly generous donation of shelf-stable food items! 🙌

This is more than a donation; it is an investment in our community and in the families who are facing food insecurity.

These items will help us stock our shelves, fill our distribution tables, and put food into the hands of families throughout Stanislaus County who need a little extra support. Every can, every box, and every item represents another opportunity to make sure a family has food on their table.

At Food Initiative, we believe healthy food should be an essential, not a privilege. We work hard to make sure families have access to food while preserving their dignity and giving them the respect they deserve. But we cannot do this work alone. It takes partnerships, generosity, and a community that believes in taking care of one another.

To the LDS Church, thank you for showing up for our community in such a BIG way! Your generosity will make a difference in the lives of so many families.

This is what community looks like. This is what making a difference looks like. And this is what happens when we come together to fight hunger! 💚

From all of us at Food Initiative, THANK YOU!

10/29/2026

❤️ 200 FAMILIES. One incredible community. So much to be thankful for. 🥦🧡

This Thanksgiving, we are filled with gratitude for the incredible generosity of Club W and Phenos for sponsoring Thanksgiving food boxes for 200 local families! 🦃🍂

Because of your kindness, more families in our community can gather around the table, share a meal, and feel the love and support of their neighbors this holiday season.

A heartfelt thank you to Club W, Phenos, and for helping make a meaningful difference in the lives of our community members. Your generosity reminds us that when we come together, we can nourish more than just bodies. We can nourish hope, connection, and belonging. 💚

From all of us at FIGS, thank you for being part of something that truly matters!

Fresh food. Strong community. Real impact. 🥕✨

10/28/2026

💚 WINNING WEDNESDAY! 💚

Every Wednesday, we love taking a moment to celebrate the good things happening at The Food Initiative and recognize the incredible people who continue to show up for our community. This week, we have SO much to be thankful for! 🥰

🍅 First, a HUGE thank-you to UC Merced Research Farm, also known as Experimental! Your generous donation of fresh tomatoes is making its way into our community and onto the tables of families who need it. Fresh, healthy food makes a difference, and we are so grateful for partners like you who help us continue our mission of making healthy food accessible to everyone!
UC Merced

🔧 A big shout-out to Elite Tire and Auto! When the U-bracket on our trailer broke, you stepped up and helped us get it repaired. Keeping our equipment in working order is essential to the work we do, and your willingness to help means more than you know. Thank you for supporting us and helping us keep moving forward! 🙌
Elite Tire & Auto

🦃 THANK YOU, Club W and Phenos! Your generous donation to sponsor 200 families for our Thanksgiving giveaway is such a beautiful example of what happens when our community comes together. Because of your kindness, families will have additional support during a time of year when coming together around the table means so much. We appreciate you more than words can say! ❤️

🎯 HAVE YOU VOTED FOR US YET? Our Target Circle campaign is still going on through December 31st! If you haven't cast your votes for The Food Initiative, please take a moment to do so. Every vote is another opportunity to support our mission and help us continue serving families throughout Stanislaus County. When you're shopping at Target, use your Target Circle votes for The Food Initiative! Every vote counts! 💚https://www.target.com/circle/community-voting/

🌸 And don't forget about our Flower Wednesdays and Fridays! Stop by, check out our flowers, and make a donation to support our work. It's a beautiful way to brighten your day while helping us keep food on the tables of families in our community. Flowers for a cause? We love that! 🌷

💚 And finally, to our amazing community… THANK YOU!

We want to give one last HUGE shout-out to every individual, business, organization, and supporter who has been stepping up with donations and helping us keep our doors open.

We want to be transparent with you. We are still in the red zone, and we are not out of the woods just yet. But because of the generosity, kindness, and willingness of this community to step up, things are looking more positive. And that gives us hope. 🙏

For nearly 50 years, The Food Initiative has been here to help feed our community. We serve more than 60,000 individuals each year, and we do this work with just two paid staff members and the incredible support of our volunteers and community.

We cannot do this alone. Every donation, every act of kindness, every vote, every share, and every person who chooses to stand with us makes a difference.

We are not giving up, and we hope you won't give up on us either. 💚

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for showing us what community really looks like. Let's keep this momentum going and continue standing together for healthy food, dignity, and a stronger community.

✨ Together, we can keep the doors open and keep healthy food moving into the hands of those who need it the most!

10/28/2026

10/27/2026

🍅❤️ A BIG THANK YOU to UC Merced Research Farm, also known as Experimental Smart Farm! ❤️🍅

At the Food Initiative (FIGS), we are incredibly grateful for the generous donation of 2850 lbs of fresh tomatoes from UC Merced Research Farm! Your support helps us continue our mission of bringing healthy, nutritious food directly into our community.

These fresh tomatoes will soon be making their way into the hands of the individuals and families we serve throughout Stanislaus County. Every donation, big or small, makes a meaningful difference in helping us provide fresh, healthy food to those who need it most.

It takes a community working together to make a difference, and we are so thankful to have partners like you standing alongside us! 🍅🙌

Thank you for helping us make healthy food an essential item, not a privilege! ❤️
UC Merced

10/26/2026

💚 Meet the People Behind FIGS: Our Board of Directors, Part 2!

Behind every mission, every food distribution, and every family we serve, there are people who believe in what we do and are willing to stand alongside us to make a difference. Today, we want to shine a spotlight on the remainder of our incredible Food Initiative (FIGS) Board of Directors! 🌱💚

Linda Blevins Ridenour
Jackie Westerman
Nathan Benninger
Linda Mumma
Dina Brambila
Sue Zwahlen
Anna L Ennis
Rodriguez
Voorhees
Harris

Our board members play an important role in helping guide our organization, sharing ideas, offering support, and helping us continue our mission of making healthy food an essential item, not a privilege.

Being part of a nonprofit takes more than a title. It takes heart, dedication, compassion, and a genuine desire to see our community thrive. We are grateful for the individuals who give their time, talents, and support to help FIGS move forward and continue serving our community.

At FIGS, we believe that healthy food should be accessible to everyone, and we are proud to have people standing beside us who believe in that vision, too. 🥦🍎

To our board members, thank you for believing in our mission, supporting our work, and being part of the team behind the scenes. Your contributions matter, and we appreciate you! 💚

✨ Stay tuned as we continue introducing the amazing people who make FIGS what it is!

Know someone who is passionate, eager to make a difference, energetic, and what to be apart of our board? Reach out to [email protected].

💚

10/26/2026

🚐 YOUR FIGS MOBILE PANTRY SCHEDULE

📍 Tuesday, October 27
🕤 9:30–11:00 AM
Gospel Mission
1400 Yosemite Blvd., Modesto

📍 Wednesday, October 28
🕙 10:00–11:00 AM
Empire Church of Christ
34 Church Street, Empire, CA

📍 Thursday, October 29
🕤 Canceled

📍 Friday, October 30
🕤 Canceled

Fresh food. Strong community. Real impact. 💚
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🔗 Check the latest schedule: https://foodinitiative.org/schedule/

10/24/2026

Last night was such a success! ❤️

Can we talk about two of the most incredible women with the biggest hearts?

Naomi and Sonia are truly something special. Not only do they pour their hearts into serving our community through the food bank, but they go above and beyond in ways most people never see.

Sonia works full-time for the food bank and still uses her incredible culinary and catering talents to help raise money for the organization. Talk about turning your gifts into something meaningful!

Last night, Naomi, Sonia, and their husbands absolutely outdid themselves! Pulled pork sliders, chicken and carne asada tacos, cheesecake, Bundt cakes, homemade strawberry water, horchata… the food was AMAZING!

We were honored to be selected as food vendors for Specialty Hospital’s annual Give Back Trunk-or-Treat event, where we also had the joy of handing out tons of candy to the community!

On a personal note, getting to roll up my sleeves and help serve food was one of my favorite parts of the evening.

It’s one thing to work for a mission. It’s another to love it so deeply that you give your time, talents, and heart to see it thrive.

These women embody exactly what community service should look like. It’s an honor to do life alongside them and witness how much they love this organization and the people it serves.

What a beautiful reminder that when people lead with their hearts, extraordinary things happen. ❤️Naomi Pulido