Countywide : Needy Get Food Boxes for Holiday

Juana Dominguez’s three children couldn’t wait until Sunday before tearing open the cardboard box of Easter food.

Standing outside the Orange County Rescue Mission in Santa Ana on Friday, the children peeled back the container’s flaps to inspect its contents of ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables and a loaf of bread.

“It is going to be a happy Easter,” Dominguez said in Spanish. “But it is never enough.”

The rescue mission opened its door Friday morning to a line of more than 100 needy people waiting for a box of food for the holiday.

Within an hour after the 10 a.m. opening, more than 90 of the 120 food boxes were claimed.

“This is the first Easter we have handed out (food) boxes,” said Jim Palmer, vice president of the mission. “The need is so much greater on the streets these days. There are more people losing their jobs. It rocks all levels of society.”

In addition to the daily menu served up at the mission on West Warner Avenue, food and money donations were collected from citizens and business communities around the county for the Easter handouts.

Several days ago, those in need signed up to receive a box and were given a token, which they exchanged Friday morning for food.

“People out there are really hurting when the economy gets tough,” Palmer said. He added that in the past several months, attendance at the mission’s daily food service has increased 12%.

On Friday, the crowd stood in front of the mission with shopping carts while restless children crowded under a shady tree. Just inside the mission doors, volunteers handed out the food boxes and collected tokens.

“For a lot of people this is a last resort,” said one man waiting in line who declined to give his name. He said he had come down to the mission to pick up a box for his mother. “This is a lot if you have nothing.”

In addition to the handouts Friday, the mission will also serve hot meals today to an estimated 600 men, women and children.

They will also provide candy-filled Easter eggs and baskets for the children attending the event.