SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Feeding San Diego Market opened in 2022, and two years later, it expanded, giving people more options for everything from canned goods to produce and even meat.
Isaiah Dela Rosa says that his parents relied on food distributions to make ends meet while growing up.
His parents were still in college when they had Isaiah and his sister.
"It was a tremendous load off their shoulders to not have to worry about how they're going to pay for that food or how they're going to feed us,” Rosa said.
But Rosa didn’t fully realize the significance until he got to college. As a double major at UC San Diego, he’s dealing with his class load, job and internship at Feeding San Diego.
Rosa has to balance his expenses, which isn’t easy for a college student.
He’s constantly looking for ways to save money, one of which is to visit the Feeding San Diego Marketplace in Sorrento Valley.
“The amount of food and the kinds of food I've been able to get. Has been very helpful for me," Rosa said. "Because I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay for it.”
The Marketplace is a grocery-style setting where people can stop by and pick up what they need.
On Thursday, Feeding San Diego celebrated the expansion of the Marketplace, which allows the program to help more people quickly.
“[In] our old marketplace, you could only fit two shoppers at a time," Rosa said. "We would be spilling into the parking lot. It would be really uncomfortable, and it really wasn't dignified at all.”
He says that aside from being grateful for the services the Marketplace provides, he’s also thankful he can help others like him through his volunteer work at Feeding San Diego.
“Everyone can benefit from that from that help. That's the purpose, not trying to limit who we're feeding. We don't know who can be suffering from food insecurity,” Rosa said.
