COUNTYWIDE : Gulf War Rations to Be Given to Needy
A shipment of surplus military food from the Persian Gulf War is scheduled to arrive in Oxnard this week, where it will be given to local food agencies for distribution to the needy, a local food bank director said Monday.
The first phase of “Operation Desert Share” will distribute about $3.5-million worth of food nationally, including 20,000 to 40,000 pounds of food expected at the Oxnard office of Food Share Inc., said Jewel Pedi, executive director of the organization.
“We’re trying to get as much as we can,” Pedi said. “Our shelves are very bare right now.”
Food Share is Ventura County’s clearinghouse for donated, salvaged and government surplus food. The organization distributes food to about 89,000 county residents through 240 member agencies, officials said.
The food is being distributed nationally by the Second Harvest National Foodbank Network under the federal General Services Administration.
The military food will be disbursed as part of Food Share’s regular distribution, Pedi said.
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