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Vista Del Camino expands food bank, ramps rec programs and volunteer operations
Summary
At a May 8 Human Services Advisory Commission meeting, staff reported Vista Del Camino’s expanded food bank operations, new grants including an Urban Sustainability Directors Network award for pantry equipment, growing volunteer base and plans for expanded recreation programming in a cleared former warehouse space.
At the May 8 Human Services Advisory Commission meeting, Vista Del Camino staff briefed commissioners on expanded food bank operations, recent grants and community programming aimed at reducing food insecurity and strengthening family services.
Sue Oh, Vista Del Camino operations lead, introduced the update and described a move of the food bank into a new, larger warehouse at 7601 E. McKellips Road. Jonathan Montoya, described by Oh as “the backbone of the food bank operations,” now directs daily sorting and distribution; staff hosted a ribbon-cutting and open house in March. Oh said the new pantry houses freezers, refrigerators and volunteer work space and is visible from the street.
Jenny Mendoza, human service supervisor, summarized programs and usage. She reported that between July 2024 and March 2025 Vista supplied 3,094 food boxes, 3,168 ready-to-eat bags and distributed about 236,000 pounds of fresh food, serving 15,107 household visits (533 unduplicated households) and assigning a notional annual value of about $596,000 for food distributed. Mendoza described a multi-pronged distribution system: scheduled food-box appointments tailored to household needs, walking bags for people without transportation, ready-to-eat packs for people without kitchen access, and a bread-rack low-barrier program that allows residents to take items without an appointment.
Oh and Mendoza outlined grants and partnerships that support the food bank and programs: a $21,600 Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) grant to buy refrigeration and recreation equipment; continued partnership and donated emergency food boxes from St. Mary’s Food Bank; grocery-rescue pickups and donations; and a $5,000 donation from a local Elk’s Lodge to buy a freezer. Mendoza also described the Healthy Packs program (weekend nutrition bags for Scottsdale Unified School District students) funded by Scottsdale Community Partners and noted there are about 50 students on a waitlist.
Volunteers are central to operations, staff said. Vista’s regular weekly volunteer roster grew from about a dozen to 34 volunteers, with roughly 2,937 volunteer hours recorded for the fiscal year to date. Staff said volunteer recruitment continues and that the pantry could need 40–50 regular volunteers to sustain expanded operations.
Commissioners asked about the source and provenance of the USDN funding and about opportunities to partner with other regional produce-rescue organizations; staff said the grant originally came through the city sustainability department and transitioned to human services and that they will review potential new partners consistent with existing agreements with St. Mary’s and other suppliers.
The updates were informational. No commission vote or contractual action was taken during the presentation.
