“As a Retired Military Veteran, I always thought it was only the Army who did more before 6 a.m., then most people do all day, but that was before I joined the Trio Community Meals Santa Clara Team,” said Lavell Renfro, general manager at Trio Community Meals (formerly Bateman).

Trio Community Meals has a long-standing relationship with the City of San José, the County of Santa Clara and other local government and non-profit organizations, that goes back well over 15 years. The organization has been committed to serving the community by addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.

He joined the team at Trio Community Meals in April, a time when the organization and their partners across the County were challenged by a spike in the need for food services. It became their mission to supply residents with needed access to vital nutrition.

Each day, the Trio Community Team gets meals prepared, packaged and ready to go before the sun comes up.

Renfro explained that even before shelter-in-place, a combination of their 13 sites and their Meals on Wheels Program “provided over 17,400 meals per week for seniors prior to the COVID 19 pandemic.” Since April, “we have since increased a whopping 62% to a total of 29,497 meals per week and steadily rising.”

By providing meals, Trio has been a source of nutrition for many people in different circumstances. For example, during the past 6 years, Trio has provided lunch to recruits at the Military Processing Center. In a partnership that supports all branches of the military, Trio Community Meals’ operation provides between 80 and 120 lunches, Monday through Friday, at the Center.

Mobilizing its efforts to respond to the sudden spike in insecurity earlier this year, Renfro is “extremely proud of this team, for stepping up, and doing what needs to be done in an ever-changing environment that we are all currently in.”

Since April, Trio Community Meals has needed to increase their meal delivery to nearly 30,000 weekly.

For more information on how you can access and find food resources in your neighborhood, visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap. #SiliconValleyStrong #SVEats #KeepSVHealthy