Santa Clarita Grocery, having escalated their services ten-fold amid the coronavirus pandemic, intends to bridge the gap of food insecurity that other local food banks cannot always accommodate and their generosity has not gone unnoticed. 

In an event hosted by California State University Northridge and the Greater San Fernando Valley chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) for National Philanthropy Day (NPD), members of the Santa Clarita Grocery team were presented awards for their generous service in providing meals for those in need across Santa Clarita. 

NPD is celebrated by the AFP each November with the goal of reflecting on the importance of giving and celebrating organizations and individuals who participate in philanthropy.

According to the AFP, NPD was first organized by Douglas Freeman in the 1980s and had its first official events in 1986 after then-President Ronald Reagan signed an official NPD proclamation.

Since November of 2018, Santa Clarita Grocery has served the community by providing weekly groceries to children, families, seniors and veterans in need. To accommodate the outbreak of COVID-19, they quickly adapted their services for conscientious grocery mobilization.

Executive Director Bradley Grose and his wife Susan Grose were recognized during the luncheon as well as Director of Community Outreach Jill Carr and volunteers Saber and Fatin Patris alongside their three sons. 

Having volunteered every Friday during the 2020 Safer-At-Home Order, 17-year-old Alex Patris, 15-year-old Jonathon Patris and 13-year-old Nathan Patris took top honors in the 2021 Youth Philanthropy Award for their dedicated service to Santa Clarita Grocery.

Their task, led by Christine Price, was to break down the 2.5 tons of food delivered each Friday by Vesta Food Services, but the Patris brothers were intent on doing more.

Months into the pandemic, the Patris brothers approached Grose to see if they could do something more than just volunteering weekly. 

The boys had realized that some of Santa Clarita Grocery’s refrigeration units were squeaking and in need of replacement, according to Grose. 

“Then they said the magic words of ‘what if?’” Grose said. “Those two words are the sign you are in the presence of young visionaries.”

The Patris brothers went on to launch a GoFundMe to purchase two new commercial energy-efficient refrigeration units and within eight weeks, they hit their fundraising goal of $6,000, according to Grose.

“Their effort not only transformed the team morale but influenced another volunteer to purchase yet another refrigeration unit,” Grose said. “The momentum continued forward which was followed with the City of Santa Clarita Valley awarding SCG a grant to purchase several additional units completing the replacement of all the upright 3-door refrigerators and freezers. Today the warehouse is lined with 100 percent energy saving, state of the art refrigeration units, all because three teen brothers had the foresight to look beyond.”

With the help of the Patris brothers and dozens of other volunteers, Santa Clarita Grocery has raised over $50,000 per year in individual donations and grants, over $1.2 million through local food retailer partnerships and inspired local youths to create fundraising drives raising more than $10,000 within the past three years. 

See Related: Santa Clarita Grocery Opens Drive-Through To Serve Community During Coronavirus Outbreak

Santa Clarita Grocery had originally been set up with a “nimble atmosphere that could quickly transform” for emergency situations.

“In fact, while meeting at SCV Fire Station 150, with the L.A County Fire Battalion Chief, the Station fire alarm bell sounded, which was the first call for a fire in Sand Canyon, what became known as the Sand Fire,” Grose said.

Santa Clarita Grocery served both the Sand Fire and Saddleridge Fire after being granted first response priority to provide immediate food and water to firefighters within the first 24 hours of a major fire, according to Grose. 

When the global pandemic struck, Santa Clarita Grocery seamlessly pulled together a new system where volunteer runners delivered groceries directly to cars while maintaining social distancing practices.

“The happy accident that came from moving inside shopping to an outside service model provided Santa Clarita Grocery the ability to serve ten times the amount of guests in the same distribution time,” Grose said.

As the non-profit organization grew, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger deemed Santa Clarita Grocery as an essential organization amid the large-scale emergency that Santa Clarita was facing, according to Grose. 

With this authorization, Santa Clarita Grocery was able to move 11 tons of food monthly, distribute three times weekly and never close amid the pandemic.

“In 5-weeks we grew from 162 families monthly to over 800 plus,” Grose said. “We were introduced to the USDA Farmers to Family Food Program through the SCV Child and Family Center, where Vista Foods Service dropped 2.5 tons of food to us every Friday. The SCV Child and Family Center social workers continue to pick up groceries weekly for 65 families.”  

Grose and the Santa Clarita Grocery volunteer team are committed to fighting hunger all-year round in the Santa Clarita Community making a profound difference in the lives of over 1,000 families monthly and do not plan on stopping any time soon. 

To learn more or donate to the cause, visit the Santa Clarita Grocery website or call (661) 425-7575.

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