Helping Hands volunteers pack groceries for distribution. (Photo courtesy of Helping Hands)
A nonprofit that provides monthly groceries to more than 140 households in Menifee is expanding its food assistance efforts with a new program aimed at bringing fresh fruit to local seniors.
Helping Hands is a Canyon Lake-based nonprofit that serves seniors throughout Riverside County. In addition to grocery deliveries, volunteers help with yard cleanups and other household needs.
The organization recently introduced Share the Harvest, a program that will collect excess fruit from residents’ backyard trees and distribute it to seniors in need.
Helping Hands founder Robert Sasser said Share the Harvest will allow the organization to expand beyond the nonperishable foods it currently provides, including beans, rice, canned vegetables and pasta.
“Not only can we get staples into the homes of the seniors, but we can also get some fresh foods and maybe even some dairy products into the homes of them,” Sasser said.
Helping Hands was founded in 2002 by Sasser and his wife, Linda, who initially purchased groceries for neighbors and other residents struggling to afford food. The organization became a registered nonprofit in 2017 and now serves seniors in Menifee, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta, Temecula, Perris and Hemet.
Sasser recalled visiting an elderly woman in Wildomar who was struggling to afford groceries. When he and his wife arrived, they found an empty peanut butter jar in her kitchen and learned that she had been relying on peanut butter for about a week each month while waiting for her monthly check.
After helping the woman stock her kitchen with groceries, she asked whether they could help several of her neighbors who were facing similar circumstances.
That led Sasser to organize a gathering at the senior community, where 65 women signed up to receive food assistance.
“It’s grown by itself and it’s evolved by itself by a need. We fill the need when it happens,” Sasser said.
Today, Helping Hands has approximately 380 registered volunteers, with about 175 participating in its programs each month. Volunteers gather at the organization’s Lake Elsinore warehouse on the second Saturday of each month to pack grocery bags for distribution.
“The real purpose of Helping Hands is to give people a chance to serve their communities in a meaningful way,” Sasser said.
Residents interested in donating excess fruit from their backyard trees through Share the Harvest or seniors seeking monthly grocery assistance can contact Helping Hands at 951-821-6080.
