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Hundreds of local residents lined up outside a non-descript commercial building in the San Antonio shopping center on Friday morning last week to receive free food for the holidays, as well as gift cards, hot chocolate and health kits.
The Dec. 6 event was the Community Services Agency’s annual holiday sharing program, which this year served over 500 families, including 1,500 children, Executive Director Tom Myers said. The longtime Mountain View nonprofit is currently operating out of the site of a former Jo-Ann fabrics shop while its headquarters on Stierlin Road is renovated.
Despite the temporary digs, CSA continues to serve thousands of the area’s most vulnerable residents each year. Describing itself as the “community’s safety net,” CSA goes well beyond just providing food to those in need.
The nonprofit also offers emergency financial assistance to help with rent and utilities, as well as support for homeless residents and case management for local seniors. The city of Mountain View also tapped CSA to implement its guaranteed basic income pilot program, which wrapped up this month.
Myers told the Voice that he wants to make sure the community knows that CSA is a safe place for all who need its services. Citing recent vitriol surrounding the election, Myers stressed that everyone is welcome, regardless of things like immigration status.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Myers said. “CSA is always going to be here. If you are low-income or homeless and qualify for our services, we’ll serve you.”
“We don’t want people to be suffering from hunger because they’re afraid to walk in the door,” Development Director Simone Berkowitz added.
CSA provides services to low-income local residents, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, faith or age, Myers said. He added that services are provided in four languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and Russian.
Jacqueline Sales Huffman, a volunteer with the Community Services Agency, sorts donated produce on Dec. 6, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Volunteers give out produce to clients at the Mountain View Community Services Agency on Dec. 6, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Mountain View Community Services Agency volunteer Carol, right, helps a client select groceries on Dec. 6, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
Ying Yan was among those who arrived on Friday to pick up food. Yan taps into CSA’s services on behalf of her sister, who has an intellectual disability and recently immigrated to the United States. When she initially learned about CSA, Yan said that her first question was whether her sister would be eligible, since she isn’t a citizen. A CSA staff member immediately told her that it didn’t matter, and that her sister could still get help.
Despite living in Mountain View for 15 years, Yan said that she hadn’t heard about CSA until her sister arrived. Now, she comes multiple times a week to pick up food.
“It’s a lot of help. It’s free, it’s fresh and everybody here (is) very friendly,” Yan said. “It’s really beyond my expectations.”
Although demand for CSA’s services was highest during the pandemic, Myers said that it has never come back down to pre-COVID levels.
Older residents are a group that has seen a particular increase in need, Berkowitz said. Five days a week, CSA offers roughly 200 local residents a hot lunch at the Mountain View Senior Center, Myers said.
But the need goes beyond just food. Seniors on fixed incomes have been particularly hard hit by inflation, Berkowitz said. In some cases, they are losing their housing and ending up homeless. CSA works to provide the financial and logistical support to stop this from happening.
Another major initiative at CSA is Elevate MV, the city’s guaranteed basic income pilot program. For the past two years, CSA has distributed $500 per month to 166 extremely low-income Mountain View families. The recipients have been free to use the money as they see fit, but the program has since concluded.
“We’ve got 166 Mountain View families that are going to suddenly have $500 less a month,” Myers said.
With the program ending, Myers said that CSA has secured additional funding to help these families adjust to the lost income. CSA will be able to retain the staff member working on the program, who will be able to offer financial education to help the participants transition, Myers said. The nonprofit is also raising money to have emergency financial assistance available in case the participants need help with rent or other bills.
Myers added that CSA is seeking donations to fund rental assistance in general, because government support for the program has rapidly diminished.
Looking ahead, CSA expects to move into its new headquarters by March of next year. The renovation is being funded almost exclusively through institutional support from the city, state and federal government, as well as a grant from Google, Myers said. He noted that he’s pleased the nonprofit thus far hasn’t had to ask for money from individual donors for the construction project.
In addition to its paid staff, CSA also relies on volunteers to help serve the community. After he retired, Phong Do said that he started volunteering at CSA as a way to give back to those living nearby.
“I live in Mountain View,” Do said. “It’s my community.”
Jacqueline Sales Huffman started volunteering to sort food a year ago after she and her husband moved to the area from Vancouver, Canada. Huffman said that she’s grateful to be able to help and has seen the “immense” impact CSA is able to have.
When she was younger, Huffman said that she and her husband relied on services like those CSA provides. She teared up as she reflected on how appreciative she is that these kinds of nonprofits exist.
“Even a small amount of help makes a big difference in the everyday lives of people,” Huffman said.
CSA is a recipient of the Mountain View Voice holiday fund. Each year, donations to the Holiday Fund are divided equally among a group of local nonprofits that serve people in need. The Voice and its Holiday Fund partner, the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation, absorb all administrative costs to run the fund, and all donations are tax-deductible.
For more information about the Holiday Fund, go to mv-voice.com.com/holiday-fund. To give a donation online, go to embarcaderomediafoundation.org/holiday-fund/mountain-view. Checks can be made payable to Mountain View Voice Holiday Fund and sent to 2345 Yale St., FL 1, Palo Alto, CA 94306. The Holiday Fund campaign will run through early January, with grants awarded in the spring.
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