14080 Palm Drive Suite E
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760-288-7878
Food Now DHS
Wed & Thur: 8- 10:30 am
Distribution Hours
Menu
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
Food Now DHS
Distribution Hours
Thank you to everyone who supported the highly successful 12th Annual Food Now Chili Cook-off.
We are grateful to Lindi Biggi for generously hosting this year’s event at her BG Bird Garden, making the 2024 cook-off a fan favorite.
Congratulations to Mayor Scott Matas, our 2024 Champion Chili Chef!
The event was not only memorable but also a significant success, raising over $42,000. These funds will enable Food Now to distribute enough healthy food to prepare over 210,000 meals for our clients. Incredible impact!
Even stormy weather could not dampen the celebration at the 11th Annual Food Now Chili Cook-off. After a 2-year covid-induced hiatus, Food Now returned to the iconic Palm Springs Air Museum to hold their 11th Annual Chili Cook-off presented by Sentinel Energy on Saturday, January 14. The event was a huge success for Food Now and a remarkable experience for their guests. The event netted close to $60,000 to help feed hungry households throughout the Coachella Valley, provide daily meals for homeless clients, and fund their weekend meals program for school-age children.
11 chefs were on hand to serve their favorite recipes for around 200 guests. Chef Sunshine from the Cathedral City Evening Rotary took home the top honor as Chili Champion.
Food Now had received 40,000 pounds of high quality, nonperishable and up to date food items and cleaning supplies.
Distribution was held on
Tuesday July 19, 1:00pm to 4:00pm
from the Food Now parking lot
This distribution was available to all who are struggling during these inflationary times. More then 60 volunteers served over 600 families.
There was No qualifying and No registration.
People stayed in their cars and the food was delivered to them.
Food Now’s amazing volunteers were treated to an appreciation party on Friday, March 25 from 12 noon till 2pm at Playoffs Sports Lounge.
All 22 of our volunteers enjoyed games, food and drink at board member Eric Pontius’ Sports lounge in Desert Hot Springs. Thank you Eric.
We couldn’t do what we do without our valued volunteers.
They really do! Thanks to a generous donation from BIGHORN Golf Charities, Food Now was able to replace the flooring in their 2,500 sq ft warehouse. Food Now distributes over 1,000,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, proteins, grains and other healthy food from their Desert Hot Springs location annually. That amount of traffic had taken a toll on the facility.
October 3, 2021. Food Now partnered with the Bianca Rae Foundation for the Animal Food Drive at The Gardens on El Paseo.
Patrons dropped off dog and cat food to help feed the animals. Food Now distributes the pet food to clients who own pets. Sunday was a good day for the pets.
Food Now’s Companion Pet feeding program got a big boost this week. Thanks to board member Mike Russell and in partnership with Loving All Animals, Food Now was able to secure close to 700 pounds of cat and dog food for weekly distribution to our pet owning clients. Dana Johnson, Director of Food Now added “The percent of our clients who are pet owners mirrors that of the general public, about 1 in 3. It’s important for us to not only take care of the nutritional needs of our clients but also help with their furry four-legged companions when possible.” In addition the County of Riverside Emergency Response donated two pallets of pet food.
The Food Now Thanksgiving food distribution was a phenomenal success. On Wednesday and Thursday November 18 and 19, Food Now provided close to 600 families with all they needed to prepare a Thanksgiving feast. Food Now distributed turkeys, yams, stuffing, squash, mashed potatoes, cranberry and even desserts.
November 18, 2020
Thank you
BIGHORN Golf Club Charities was so moved by the great work being done by Food Now they made a $12,000 donation through its Bighorn Cares Grant program. The money is for the purchase and installation of a walk-in cooler that will double the agencies capacity to provide fresh and healthy food.
Family Services of the Desert’s community food pantry Food Now is the largest food pantry in the Coachella Valley, both in number of people served and pounds of food distributed. Food Now currently distributes approximately 700,000 pounds of food annually, over 13,000 pounds per week. About 1/3 of the food distributed is fresh and requires refrigeration. The 4,400 pounds of fresh food distributed weekly would fill to overflowing the existing walk-in cooler. This limits the agency’s ability to provide the freshest and healthiest food for our clients.
The second walk-in cooler made possible by Bighorn Cares will double the agency’s refrigerated storage capacity and allow Food Now to distribute twice as much healthy and nutritious fresh food. This in turn allows for us to cut back on the processed canned goods. Doubling the fresh food distributed makes the food boxes served some of the healthiest of any food pantry. And more important, it gives our clients the ingredients for a healthy diet and a healthy life.
THANK YOU BIGHORN Golf Club Charities for your generous donation.
Supervisor Manny Perez spearheads 2019/2020 CDBG funding for Food NowFood Now received great news recently. Riverside County approved $12,000 for Food Now as part of the 2019/2020 Community Development Block Grant funding. The money will be used to provide food assistance and other programs that meet the critical needs of the residents of Desert Hot Springs and the surrounding area of the 4thCounty District.
Last year Food Now was denied funding from the CDBG. The reason given was the board of supervisors had to “prioritize” which programs were funded. “We were devastated” said Dana Johnson, Food Now Executive Director. Johnson reached out to Supervisor Manny Perez’ office looking for answers. “Supervisor Perez has always been a supporter of Food Now and the great work we do. I wanted to know just what could be a higher priority than feeding hungry families, seniors and children” Johnson would ask.
To Supervisor Perez’ credit, he held a press conference at Food Now to illuminate the challenges faced by Food Now as they fight hunger and food insecurity in Desert Hot Springs which is in the 4thSupervisorial District. It also allowed Supervisor Perez to meet the families, seniors, children, and his constituents who benefit from the food assistance and other programs provided by Food Now.
Every week 350 households, over 1,000 men, women and children look to Food Now for help in putting food on their table. Thanks to Supervisor Perez, their well-being is a priority a once again. When families are strengthened, entire communities rise up.
