OUR STORY

Serving the community of Tulare County Since 1931

Visalia Emergency Aid (VEA) Food Pantry and Family Assistance Center works diligently to bring nutritious food and overall support while maintaining the dignity of low-income families and the working poor. It is VEA’S goal to move our clients toward self-sufficiency.

Rising out of the Dust Bowl era, VEA was established by a group of forward-thinking women known as “Associated Charities”. This group of women gathered food, blankets, and firewood to distribute to the growing number of impoverished families moving into California to find a better life. As more and more families began to settle in this agriculture-rich area known as the Central Valley, the need increased far beyond the scope of this group of women resulting in the formation of Visalia Emergency Aid.

In early 1970 the City of Visalia gifted VEA the property where our new warehouse and remodeled pantry sit today. Our Client Services Center is positioned in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Visalia, where many of our clients reside, and within walking distance of our services.

To this day, over 91 years later, VEA continues the work of its founders. However, as the face of hunger in our community has changed, so has VEA evolved. By expanding our focus to include homelessness prevention, job training, and many other health and human services VEA hopes that one day we can all live in a community that allows everyone the chance to step out of poverty and into a future that is secure, hopeful, and hunger-free.