It Takes a Village: We Rise by Lifting Others
SCCS ' s Vicki Martin Leads the Charge to Support Local Residents
by Crystal Han
When the government shut down in October 2025 and SNAP benefits were in limbo for over a month, suddenly food insecurity was on the forefront of the nation’ s mind. People across America rallied to help bridge the gap, reaching out over social media, trying to generate funds, and donating to local food pantries. In Gilroy, as with many other cities, people even left home-baked goods and groceries in their front yards with signs encouraging anyone to take it if they needed it.
Kind gestures like these are when Vicky Martin, Community Engagement Director for South County Community Services, feels proudest of her community. Unfortunately, she isn’ t surprised by the overwhelming need.“ It’ s been building for a while now. We knew something was going to happen because there’ s just no support. We’ re serving more families and individuals now than we did during Covid, and Covid was pretty massive,” she said.
Formerly St. Joseph’ s Family Center, South County Community Services( SCCS) is a merger with the South County Compassion Center. The agency provides emergency needs ranging from food, housing support, homeless prevention, rent assistance, transportation, and more. They are the top grocery rescue participant in Santa Clara County, redirecting high quality foods away from the waste stream and distributing them to families two days a week.
Although the merger has allowed SCCS to have a greater impact on the community, it has still been a tough year. Martin has seen government funding for the food industry go from severely diminished in 2024 to nonexistent in 2025. Simultaneously, they have gone from serving around 1,450 families a week to almost 1,900 and counting.( Continued...)
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