San Diego County – Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel (D–San Diego) distributed complete Thanksgiving meals to 1,000 families across Assembly District 76 on Saturday at Los Peñasquitos Elementary School. After raising more than $43,000 through community donations and partnering with the San Diego Food Bank, Assemblymember Patel provided turkeys, sides, and fresh vegetables to 1,000 families. She used remaining funds to provide an additional 22,000 Thanksgiving meals for the Food Bank to distribute throughout San Diego County.
Following weeks of community outreach to register families, residents began lining up at 9:30 a.m. to receive their Thanksgiving meals. Assemblymember Patel worked alongside staff and volunteers to distribute 1,000 complete meals over the course of three hours.
The distribution marked the first large-scale Thanksgiving meal program organized by an Assembly District 76 representative and comes as the community faces persistent food insecurity challenges. In San Diego County, more than 840,000 people struggle with nutrition insecurity, over 100,000 children do not know where their next meal will come from, and more than 240,000 households rely on CalFresh to buy groceries.
As Assemblymember Patel works in Sacramento to protect SNAP/CalFresh and secure stable funding for food banks, this first of its kind Thanksgiving distribution in Assembly District 76 is one way she is also confronting food insecurity directly in the community.
"Thanksgiving should be about gathering with loved ones, not worrying about how to put food on the table," said Assemblymember Patel. "While I'm fighting in Sacramento to protect CalFresh and secure stable funding for food banks, today was about taking direct action here at home. Seeing the relief and gratitude on families' faces is a powerful reminder why this work matters. That's why beyond the 1,000 families we served today, we secured funds to provide 22,000 additional Thanksgiving meals through the San Diego Food Bank."
Assemblymember Patel has made food security a legislative priority, advocating for stable CalFresh funding in the state budget and supporting legislation to expand nutrition assistance programs. She announced that the Thanksgiving distribution will become an annual tradition in Assembly District 76.
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Dr. Darshana Patel represents Assembly District 76, which includes the cities of Escondido, San Marcos, and northern parts of the City of San Diego, as well as the unincorporated areas of Del Dios, Elfin Forest, Fairbanks Ranch, Harmony Grove, Lake San Marcos, and Rancho Santa Fe. Assemblymember Patel serves on the following committees: EDGHI (Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact), Health, Education, Higher Education, Budget, and the Budget Subcommittee #3 on Education Finance.
