The Santee Food Bank needs your help!

Will you join these smiling young ladies and help the Santee Food Bank?

During my visit to the Santee Street Fair today, I learned that the Santee Food Bank could use your assistance fighting hunger. They’d love to welcome new volunteers, contributions of food, and reusable plastic bags that can be filled with food for distribution in the Santee community.

If you have it in your heart, please visit the Santee Food Bank website by clicking here.

Life is tough enough. Imagine going to bed hungry.

Your contributions–even modest ones–directly help people. Those people might be your neighbors.

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Start your own holiday food drive in San Diego!

Would you like to help people in your community who are hungry this holiday season? It’s easy for you, your organization or business to start a holiday food drive! The San Diego Food Bank makes it super simple!

A box or tub placed where people congregate can be filled with items like canned foods, peanut butter, pasta, rice, cereal and oatmeal. It’s easy to print out a poster like the one you see above, downloadable from the San Diego Food Bank website here.

Once filled, the container can be picked up for free by the food bank. Or you can drop it off anytime Monday through Friday, 8 am – 12 pm or 1 pm – 4 pm at the San Diego Food Bank address, which is 9850 Distribution Ave., Dock 0, San Diego, CA 92121

If you anticipate a large amount of donated food, the food bank will happily lend you a big collection barrel. Barrel delivery and pickup by the food bank is free! Can you fill multiple barrels? That would be awesome!

Don’t have a good place for a container or barrel? You can also host a virtual food drive!

Find detailed information about hosting your own special food drive by visiting the San Diego Food Bank website here.

Why not make this holiday season extra meaningful? It’s so easy!

Look! We started a food drive today where I work!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Lids of Encouragement provides hope in San Diego.

Can you imagine being homeless or very poor and hungry? How difficult your day-to-day life would be. How depressed you might feel. How hopeless and inescapable the situation might seem?

I was walking home from San Diego Comic-Con a couple days ago when I met a couple of smiling guys selling water by the sidewalk. They had this sign:

What would you say to make someone’s day?

When I stopped to learn what those words meant, I discovered these guys are working to help the homeless and hungry in San Diego with Lids of Encouragement.

On their table I saw container lids with positive messages written on them. Lids of Encouragement uses these lids to seal care and food packages for those in need downtown. I told them I’d write a blog to help their effort.

I found this article written a couple months ago. It explains how the founder himself was homeless for a while. He must certainly understand what it’s like. The organization has been around for many years now. Lids of Encouragement might be small but it’s still going strong!

I also see students in downtown San Diego are writing encouraging messages on many of the lids.

You can check out the Lids of Encouragement website by clicking here. Perhaps you can help them in their very important mission to make lives better.

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Help end hunger: plant a vegetable garden!

Would you like to begin a project at home that is fun and beneficial to others in need? Why not plant a vegetable garden, grow healthy produce and donate your harvest to a local food bank?

I was walking through the Garden Show at the San Diego County Fair when I came upon a “Homegrown Hunger Relief” display. I stopped to read what that meant.

The organization Healthy Day Partners works to feed the hungry with healthy food, and encourages the creation of home and school gardens. They offer gardening workshops, and support a number of different hunger relief programs.

Healthy Day Partners has collaborated with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to plant fruit trees in many communities throughout San Diego County.

They also offer Grab & Grow Gardens to aid people grow their own food. A small selection of vegetable and/or herb seedlings are handed out in an easy to carry bag, along with instructions in English and Spanish.

Sounds like a good thing? Check out the Healthy Day Partners website and perhaps become involved by clicking here!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Young Marines help feed the hungry on Veterans Day.

Today, Veterans Day, a Celebration of Service was held at the Veterans Museum at Balboa Park.

Several local organizations from around San Diego came together during the event to engage in service projects that help the community.

When I arrived at the museum in the early afternoon, I noticed that hard-working Young Marines were helping Feeding San Diego to assemble Thanksgiving boxes.

Every box makes a complete Thanksgiving dinner, minus a turkey. Those who are hungry during the holiday season will greatly appreciate the kindness of others.

The Veterans Day event is part of the #ThanksToVeterans Tour, which has traveled across the United States to celebrate the service and contributions of Veterans.

Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Create a superhero and win 4 Comic-Con passes!

With less than a week to go, Comic-Con International logos have appeared all over the San Diego Convention Center!

Do you know any kids who’d like to win 4 valuable passes to San Diego Comic-Con this year? Listen up!

I just learned there’s a contest underway that ends tomorrow, put on by the Comic-Con Museum and Feeding San Diego. It’s called the Hunger Action Hero Art Contest.

Students from K to 12 are invited to create a hunger fighting superhero! Artwork and a brief superhero origin story are required to enter the contest, but kids must do so by April 22, 2022–that’s tomorrow! Fortunately, submissions can be made easily online.

Various prizes will be awarded for the top ten entries, in addition to 4 Comic-Con passes for the contest winner. To learn more, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Mosaic at God’s Extended Hand building.

There’s an elaborate, quite beautiful tile mosaic mural outside the old God’s Extended Hand building in San Diego’s East Village. You can see it at the corner of 16th Street and Island Avenue.

The colorful mural is overflowing with compassionate messages and religious imagery, including Christ as a shepherd carrying a lamb.

The God’s Extended Hand ministry endured for 96 years, feeding the homeless and hungry, until it closed down a few months ago. Father Joe’s Villages will be redeveloping the site, creating more affordable housing and support for the homeless downtown. I don’t know whether these mosaics will be preserved.

I walked past part of the artwork this morning and took these photos. I only photographed the wall along 16th Street. Some people camped on the sidewalk were by the other wall on Island Avenue.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

End hunger with the SD Fridge Project!

Here’s an idea to consider if you’d like to help neighbors who could use a little food assistance.

While out on a recent walk, I spotted a refrigerator and some shelves in front of the Normal Heights United Methodist Church. A sign on the fridge stated FREE FOOD. I had to check it out.

Members of the church are participating in the SD Fridge Project, and the canned food and fresh vegetables near the church entrance are free for the taking. If anyone in the community is in a difficult place and could use some food, they are more than welcome to help themselves.

I read the info on a sheet taped to the refrigerator and learned more about the SD Fridge Project (@sdfridgeprojects). I took a photo so you can read it and perhaps become involved, too!

You can find the enlarged email address in an upcoming photograph, if you’d like to participate!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Ready to make history at Petco Park.

At Petco Park, everything appears ready.

Padres street lamp banners have been hung around the ballpark. Bunting decorates the stands. The playing field is immaculate. Tomorrow the home team starts a new baseball season undefeated.

Many baseball experts say 2021 might be the beginning of a Golden Age for the San Diego Padres. All of the pieces are in place. Finally.

I walked around Petco Park this evening and felt the quiet anticipation.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

How you can help USO San Diego fight hunger!

The USO is collecting food at Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets around San Diego. Buy a five dollar bag of food for a hungry neighbor, receive a five dollar coupon for the store!
The USO is collecting food at Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets around San Diego. Buy a five dollar bag of food for those who are hungry, receive a five dollar coupon from the store!

Before I post more photos of Comic-Con, let me alert my local readers to a great opportunity to help others. I just discovered an easy and essentially free way to help fight hunger in San Diego!

Walking back home from Comic-Con, I realized I needed groceries, so I swung by the downtown Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. As I stepped inside, I was greeted by two friendly volunteers from the USO. They’re working to fight hunger in San Diego!

I learned that during the month of July, shoppers who purchase a $5 bag of food from their table to help feed the hungry receive a $5 coupon from the store!

Kudos to the USO and their efforts. Kudos to Grocery Outlet Bargain Market for their generosity!

I also learned the USO collects food twice a month from a mobile food pantry in partnership with Feeding San Diego. Check out the USO San Diego Facebook page for times and locations!

USO San Diego collects food twice a month in partnership with Feeding San Diego. Check the USO Facebook page for their Mobile Food Pantry locations!
USO San Diego collects food twice a month in partnership with Feeding San Diego. Check the USO Facebook page for their Mobile Food Pantry locations!

Are you a blogger? Do you want to help make the world a better place? You might want to join Bloggers Lifting Others Generously.