Food Boxes & Bags (Distribution)

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Food Boxes, distributed behind the Center, are available:

Monday thru Friday 6:30 AM – 10:00 AM (Walk up only)

Saturdays 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Walk up only)

 

(The Center is closed New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. Services, other than the holiday meal, are not available Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.)

Introducing Brother Benno's Indoor Market!

Brother Benno's food distribution efforts continue to evolve to better serve our guests' needs! In 2025, plans will be underway to build an indoor market inside our warehouse where food choices can be made based on availability, nutritional requirements, and tastes.

Thanks to the generous support of Feeding San Diego, this project was able to become a reality. In addition, a generous matching donation from the Copley Foundation means that donations made for the indoor market will be matched until we reach $10,000 or the deadline of December 15, 2024. The entire project is expected to cost $300,000.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Kathleen Diehlmann, Development Manager at (760) 231-1674 or email kathleen.diehlmann@brotherbenno.org.

DONATE TO THE MARKET PROJECT

Food Box Eligibility

Families with children, senior citizens, and the disabled are eligible to receive one or more family food boxes (depending on size of household). The food box consists of basic food staples to feed a family of four for three days and is intended to supplement the nutritional needs of low-income families. Homeless individuals may receive one food bag per week.

  • Brother Benno's Center

    3260 Production Avenue
    Oceanside, CA 92058

  • Hours of Operation


    Monday - Friday 6:30 AM
    10:00 AM (Walk up only)

    Saturdays
    9:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Walk up only)

  • Phone

    (760) 439-1244

  • Email

    info@brotherbenno.org

  • Eligibility

    Families with children, senior citizens, homeless and disabled individuals (Must have Brother Benno's ID)

Food donations and distribution

Program members and staff unload trucks filled with food donations from local grocery stores and restaurants. These trucks, driven by volunteers, make pick-ups early in the morning five days a week. Learn more about our Food Rescue Program here.

This donated food is used to feed a hot breakfast to over 200 people six days a week. Without these generous donations, many North County low-income families and the homeless would go without a hot breakfast.

Unpacking Food Trucks

Volunteers packing food boxes

Over 2200 food boxes are distributed each month.  Volunteers arrive at the Center early in the morning to pack the boxes with nutritious food. These boxes are designed to help families get a few extra days of food each month.

Contents depend on donations, but usually contain staples such as: beans, rice, cereal, peanut butter, canned goods such as tuna, fruit and vegetables. On the occasions when we receive fresh meats, produce, and eggs, they are given in addition to the food boxes.

Packing Food Boxes

Fred Rogers

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say it’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem, then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

Marelle H.

"I wish the public better understood that most folks who get meal boxes are working families who simply can't make ends meet with the rising cost of living...Not only do families have to choose between paying bills or buying food, they often have to decide who, in the family, gets to eat. These are impossible choices that no family should have to make."

Edward Everett Hale

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And
I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Tracey B.

Designation

Benno's is a wonderful place. It's a place that helps you when times get hard. It has a understanding and caring staff.

Chrissie C.

Designation

Good work they are doing. Loved brother Benno when I was a child.

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