Partner Highlight: Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Rachel Bonilla
Oct 10
5 min read

Friday, October 10th, 2025

Photos Courtesy of: Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Community Partners are the lifeblood of FARSB, and with nearly 250, we have many to showcase. Each year, we select a few partner pantries to highlight and show others how their operations are doing, what they're excelling at, and boost awareness. This time, we present the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

This Community Partner is based in Temecula, CA, and operates a 25-year-old pantry system that helps provide hunger relief for community members in need. Their dedication to providing more than food assistance is admirable. From offering additional resources to playing music at distributions, they aim to provide food, a welcoming atmosphere, and hope to all neighbors in need.

Where it All Began

St. Catherine of Alexandria is nearly 115 years old, but the food pantry began 25 years ago. Initially started at the request of a local Methodist church, which had its own pantry onsite, the church took over the operations once it realized the smaller church didn't have the room to run the entire operation. With St. Catherine's having extra space available, they moved the pantry operations to their building.

When it started, there were a handful of families that frequented the food distributions, but they now serve 105 people a week, averaging around 420 people every month. This pantry setup is similar to a farmer's market with several tables featuring different types of food for folks to choose from. This is open to all community members and has families from Lake Elsinore and Fallbrook coming to receive food.

In addition to the food distributed, they also combine hygiene items to give to unhoused individuals who come to their pantry for assistance. They also surveyed clients and discovered that toilet paper is a highly requested item. They now offer distributions with toiletries available for those who need them as well.

From the Top Down

Known by volunteers simply as "Boss," Robert Valdillez holds the title of President for the organization, which is in its second year of a three-year term. Rob, his wife Rose, and all shift volunteers are unpaid volunteer staff for the food pantry, which is in its 25th year of operation in Temecula.

Robert is no stranger to hard work, as he spent his career as a firefighter and uses that dedication at the pantry. He moved to Temecula after retiring and was attending the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria when they asked for volunteers for their pantry. Robert heard the call and volunteered for the first time, quickly becoming a regular. The main reason he began assisting was that they needed a truck for transport, which he had.

After some time, the former President stepped down, and Robert was asked to take his place. Robert explained, "I didn't want to do it at first, but I prayed and felt like I was being called to do so." Since taking the role of President, he has worked on updating and modernizing the administrative office, which now operates its own website and uses QR codes for fast and easy donating and payment processing.

As a partner of FARSB, they also get a chance to work with our Retail Rescue Program, which allows for pickups at local retail locations for fresher food in less time. With several new stores partnering with our food bank, our partner network will receive multiple donations from grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail locations to boost food inventory. They also support food rescue for expired food, which is saved and picked up by local farmers to use for their livestock, instead of going to waste.

Neighbors in need are coming to the pantry more often than before, so the need for more products is necessary. Robert said, "The number of clients has doubled in the last few years, and we see families sacrificing food for other [necessities]. We tell them to come to us and use the money they saved on other bills, like rent."

The cost of living has risen steeply in the past few years, and families are feeling the strain, having to sacrifice one area of need for another. Robert explains, "We see people with nice cars, who don't look like they would need food. A volunteer asked if they should still be served. We serve everybody. He may have just lost his job. You just never know."

Additional Assistance

Not only does the pantry offer food for its clients, but several additional forms of assistance are given, if needed, to those in need. There is a helpline operated by pantry volunteers used for assistance with financial issues like late rent or car payments, as needed. They also have a home delivery service through volunteers to ensure folks without access to reliable transportation still receive the food they need.

Seasonal support allows for additional help for families through the holidays with items like winter coats, turkey donations, and Christmas present buying for children through their Adopt a Child program. Typically, they offer additional donated items and food together to create a special event for families and individuals to participate in, in hopes of creating a family-like atmosphere for folks to come to during the holiday season.

Filling Needs & Filling Fridges

FARSB is sometimes able to pass along large donations to our Community Partner network, and this fridge and freezer donation comes at a time when St. Vincent Pantry is starting to receive donations from more retail stores, and the equipment is greatly needed. With this new refrigerator and freezer, they'll be able to maximize those incoming resources and serve more families in need within their service area with fresh and frozen items like meat and dairy products.

This piece of equipment is a 3-door combo commercial refrigerator and freezer that holds up to 100 sq. feet of food storage. With food donations coming in from FARSB and community members assisting their mission, they will be able to take in more items to keep their pantry stocked and ready for neighbors to rely on as they see their clientele growing within the area.

As the needs of the Temecula area grow, as many food banks and pantries are seeing rising numbers of neighbors in need, building their capacity for more fresh and frozen items will allow for better quality products for families looking for food assistance.

Wrap-Up

As the Temecula area sees growing needs and is likely to continue in the coming year, they and other pantries will need more volunteers, donations, and support from their community. As a food bank, we will continue to help them build capacity to grow with the needs of their neighbors.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

41875 C Street

Temecula, CA 92592

951 676-4403

stcatherineofalexandria.temecula@sbdiocese.org

Office Hours:

8:00AM – 12:30PM

1:30PM - 5:00PM

Monday – Friday

Retail Rescue Program - Food Rescue

As part of our Retail Rescue Program, their organization takes in product from distribution centers, grocery stores, and other retail locations that are donated directly to their facility. This ensures that the food is freshest and will get to neighbors utilizing their pantry in the shortest time.

Through this program, FARSB has been able to rescue over 25 million pounds of food* that would have otherwise gone to landfills. Community Partners, like St. Vincent de Paul, are contacted when retail locations reach out to our food bank, and then we coordinate with Community Partners in the area to receive the donation.