Food Agency to Receive U.S. Grant of $950,000 : Hunger: Officials of the Oxnard-based organization say they will spend much of the money to buy a warehouse and a refrigerated truck.

A nonprofit agency in Oxnard that provides food for Ventura County’s homeless and poor will receive a $950,000 government grant, a move that was hailed Monday as a major step in efforts to alleviate hunger in the county.

The grant, which will go to Food Share Inc., is part of a Department of Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill that passed the House and Senate last week and is expected to be signed by President Bush later this month, said Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura).

Speaking before volunteers and staff members of Food Share, Lagomarsino said the grant will “go a long way to alleviate hunger” in the county.

“I’m confident this money will be well invested,” said Lagomarsino, a chief sponsor of the grant.

Food Share officials said they would spend about $700,000 to purchase the warehouse that the organization has been renting for five years.

“You had to peel me off the ceiling when I heard about the grant,” said Food Share Executive Director Jewel Pedi, whose organization now spends about $6,000 a month to rent the 11,900-square-foot warehouse. “That’s almost a sixth of our budget.”

With the saving, Food Share will increase the number of county residents that it serves, while expanding a program that brings prepared food to the needy population.

The agency serves about 90,000 residents every month, through soup kitchens and homeless shelters, Pedi said.

More than 11.6% of the county’s residents are living below the poverty level, and many children miss meals during the summer because they are no longer in school where they participate in a free lunch program, said Food Share spokeswoman Susan Hixon.

“I see an ever-increasing number of people seeking help,” Hixon said.

The recession coupled with nearly 3,500 farm-worker layoffs has left many residents out of work and some without anything to eat, Hixon said.

The South Bank Road warehouse serves as a center for the distribution of food and employs 10 paid staff members. It serves as a headquarters for the 540 volunteers who glean produce from farm fields and collect dated food from grocery stores.

Funds will also go toward the purchase of a refrigerated truck, which will enable the organization to pick up and distribute leftover food from area restaurants.

Food Share was founded in 1978 and distributes food through 245 agencies including emergency food pantries, senior centers and group homes. It also supplies some goods for the food bank in Santa Barbara County.

Food Share President Kenneth Simonson said the grant would be a catalyst for increasing food distribution efforts in the county.

“We’ve needed a jump start and today was a good one,” Simonson said.