Laguna Food Pantry receives more than $100,000, an ‘unprecedented boost’

More than $100,000 is coming to the Laguna Food Pantry courtesy of a fundraiser and a matching gift from the William and Sue Gross Family Foundation.

Foundation officials pledged $50,000 if the pantry could raise that amount, and donors did not disappoint.

A taco party called PantryPalooza at Laguna’s Marine Room Tavern last month helped raise $51,285 for the pantry, which every day collects and distributes 2,000 pounds of free, fresh, nutritious groceries to shoppers from area low-income households.

The added revenue will help the pantry provide more protein options besides peanut butter and beans and replace a failing freezer, pantry Director Justin Myers said in a news release.

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Some donors in other countries pledged financial support when they discovered their contributions would be matched, pantry board President Korey Jorgensen said in the release.

“We’re deeply grateful to our generous Laguna Beach community for this unprecedented boost for our organization,” Jorgensen said. “Our resources have been stretched thin in the last 18 months due to the number of families who come to us for supplemental groceries.”

Bill Gross co-founded Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, a global investment management firm based in Newport Beach.

His wife, Sue, is president of the family foundation, which has donated to multiple healthcare and educational institutions around the world. The couple resides in Laguna Beach.

The pantry, at 20652 Laguna Canyon Road, is open from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers are welcome.

For more information, contact the pantry at (949) 497-7121 or visit lagunafoodpantry.org.

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Bryce Alderton, bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce