In Hesperia, an unassuming industrial building by the train tracks holds an incredible resource for the High Desert community. The High Desert Second Chance is categorically a food bank, but they offer much more to the community surrounding them. They run Monday through Saturday distributing food, clothes, and other vital resources.
High Desert Second Chance services hundreds of families facing food insecurity. On any given week, their service will be to at least 150-200 families at their Emergency Food Pantry and 500 families at their Open Market Food Distribution. This means that they are servicing roughly a minimum of 4,800 people a week.
Second Chance’s Emergency Food Pantry is open on Mondays through Thursdays. Anyone under 65 can utilize this service once every 30 days and anyone 65 and older or U.S. Veterans with proof of service can use the program once a week. They operate from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. First time visitors must bring a valid ID and proof of address dated no less than 30 days from the day of the visit. On Saturdays there is an Open Market Food Distribution that is open to the community from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.. They are passionate about meeting everyones needs, so nobody is turned away. There is no income guidelines or qualifications. Anyone who comes on Saturdays will receive 3-4 bags of groceries. In addition to these distributions, on the last Thursday of each month, USDA Commodities are distributed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the only exceptions being if it is a major holiday. USDA is very similar to their regular food distribution, but there is usually more dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. They also have a mobile food pantry available for families.
Second Chance also reaches out as a food commodity distributor to 98 different organizations including one local to the Tri-Community–the Phelan Foursquare Church who has their distributions on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 10120 Johnson Rd. as well as a monthly USDA food give away. There are multiple distribution hubs connected to Second Chance located in the communities of Adelanto, Barstow, 29 Palms, and potentially a location in Big Bear in the future.
In addition to their weekly services, Second Chance goes beyond food distribution by actively engaging the community through various events and partnerships. “The important thing the community should know is that we’re not just a food bank” according to Nazario Bravo, a volunteer at Second Chance. Second Chance partners and resources together with several different organizations to bring services to families on their site. They have have utility assistance where they help people with their bills, IEHP to connect people with healthcare and answer any medical questions, and community events for Easter, a Halloween trunk-or-treat, Thanksgiving and Christmas events as well. They also partner with organizations such as churches, schools, court, local college campuses and more in order to provide volunteer hours and opportunities as well. Nazario Bravo also stated that “if we don’t do it, we’ll find somebody to help” with any need that is presented.
High Desert Second Chance is located at 16666 Smoke Tree Bldg. B#4, Hesperia, CA 92345 and their website is highdesertsecondchance.pagecloud.com. This amazing organization cannot operate without the support of the local communities. If you would like to donate to support them you can visit their website and click on “Donate.”
