In Lompoc, a shortage of eggs has made a non-profit's fight against food insecurity even more challenging.
Workers at the Lompoc Food Pantry say they feed up to 100 local families every day. They say a recent scarcity in essential goods has made it more difficult to keep up with their services.
"They come in and whatever we got, we serve," said former Food Pantry coordinator Angel Ramos.
On Monday evening, the Facebook group "Friends of the Lompoc Food Pantry" took to social media to address its egg shortage.
"Every time we have a shortage of something, we post something on Facebook and people respond," said regional coordinator of client services at Catholic Charities, Ryzbel Pack. "We have a great community."
The post made its rounds on social media and Tuesday morning, leaders with the Lompoc Food Pantry woke up to a nice surprise.
"We received a big donation from Albertson's. Two hundred and fifty pounds of eggs," Pack said.
She says the donation will allow them to distribute eggs for the next few days, but once that runs out, they may find themselves facing another supply shortage.
"Gas went up, and everything goes up, so it is kind of hard for the stores to donate a lot of stuff," added Ramos.
The local Grocery Outlet, Walmart, Foods-Co and Albertson's are the Food Pantry's main sources for donations, but as grocery stores face supply chain issues of their own, as a result, a smaller sum of food donations trickles down to the Lompoc Food Pantry.
"We don't like to see clients come into this agency and not find food, so it is important for us to have what they need," Pack said.
The managers at the Lompoc Albertson's said they preferred to not be interviewed, but added that their store was happy to contribute to the Lompoc Food Pantry's efforts with their recent donation.
They said they were able to contribute the eggs simply because they over ordered.
Some Lompoc residents with chicken coups have also reached out and offered to donate eggs of their own.
This month, the Lompoc Food Pantry is partnering with Grocery Outlet's Independence from Hunger campaign. They are looking to raise $40,000.
