Vision for Growth

In an effort to meet our Daring Faith “A” goal of assisting 250,000 people in need, Saddleback’s Rancho Capistrano campus regularly serves the community through their monthly Mobile Food Pantry. On the fourth Wednesday of every month, volunteers arrive at 7:15 AM to help unload the food truck for residents.

Local families can shop from 9:00–11:00 AM and receive provisions at no cost. Saddleback’s Mobile Food Pantry is not just about giving away free groceries however. Providing for people’s basic needs through this ministry is a gateway to sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Helping meet these needs of local residents is a pool of 80 volunteers who selflessly serve the community. Since the Rancho Capistrano Mobile Food Pantry first launched in 2014, over 610 families have received free groceries, with an average of 20 families turning up each month. An increase always occurs around Thanksgiving when the number of visitors seeking assistance more than doubles.

According to Carl Leggieri, who helped launch the Rancho Capistrano Mobile Pantry with his wife Charlene and Robyn Alinsod: “It’s the heart of the volunteers that allows this ministry to thrive. We never have an issue finding people willing to step up and carry out the mission.”

In the brief time it’s been open, the Mobile Food Pantry has been well received by the community. Residents primarily come from San Juan, and efforts are being made to spread the word to neighboring areas.

“We’d like to see more people at the Mobile Food Pantry so that we can avoid sending food back to the warehouse,” explains Carl. “If we one day grow into a PEACE Center, we would follow the model of San Clemente and Irvine South by adding more hours, additional storage, and other resources.”

For now, the committed volunteers at our Rancho Capistrano campus are sacrificially coming together once a month to serve in three ways: unload food, set up the food pantry, and minister to families. 

“Our goal is not to just feed people,” says Carl, “but to also nourish the soul. We continually recommend resources at the Lake Forestat and San Clemente PEACE Centers and suggest opportunities to get connected to God and the Saddleback family.”

To serve at the Rancho Capistrano Food Pantry, and to help meet our Daring Faith goal to assist people in need, contact Carl at carll@saddlebackvolunteer.com.