Photo by Jason Redmond

Jack Lembeck collects food for the Mother Theresa Christian Service at St. Rose of Lima Church in Simi Valley. Albertsons' Fresh Rescue program asks its Southern California stores to save food that used to be thrown out.

Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg

"I don't know what I'd do without it," Kerry Durkee, left, said of the groceries she gets for her family from Sonrise Christian Fellowship in Simi Valley. The food she receives through the Fresh Rescue program helps her save more than $100 a week.

Fresh meat, produce and dairy — once thrown away by grocery store chains by the thousands of pounds each month — is now getting to the tables of the most needy in Ventura County.

While shoppers wouldn't pay for a pack of veal chops if the "sell by" date is near, charities and food pantries, desperate to fill shelves, happily take it.

Foods that have a limited shelf life are given a second chance thanks to Fresh Rescue, a program that culls food near its expiration date when it isn't considered salable and donates it to nonprofit agencies for distribution.

Started last year by Albertsons, the program requires all 287 of the chain's Southern California stores to participate, saving food that used to be thrown out. In May, 1.72 million pounds of fresh food were delivered to needy families in Southern California, about 60,000 pounds in Ventura County.

"We are placing really different products like milk, meats and cheeses in the hands of people who really need it," said Lilia Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Albertsons who helps coordinate the Fresh Rescue program. "It's been very successful."

Since Christmas, at least 30 Ventura County agencies have signed up with the program, and pantry volunteers pick up and quickly distribute the food to thousands of families each month.

As the cost of living continues to price lower-income people out of buying necessities, Fresh Rescue comes at the right time, program advocates say.

The Samaritan Center in Simi Valley helps to coordinate food deliveries with about 16 agencies in the east county, where volunteers pick up food at a designated store and then distribute it to clients.

"It offers them a variety of choices of fresh fruits and vegetables," said Betty Eskey, executive director of the Samaritan Center. "It's a fabulous program."

On a recent Monday, bananas, celery, cherries, limes, mangoes, veal chops, chicken, cookies, cakes and prepared bags of salad were being given out at Sonrise Christian Fellowship in Simi Valley. The fruit was ripe and ready to eat in the next few days but not past its prime.

Kerry Durkee has done all she can to put food on the table for herself and her two children. Like many trying to make ends meet, Durkee works full time, but that isn't good enough, she said.

So the bag of groceries she receives through the Fresh Rescue program helps save her more than $100 a week.

"I don't know what I'd do without it," Durkee said, choosing fruit from a shelf near a pantry, where volunteers at Sonrise Christian Fellowship dole out everything from canned and baked goods to barbecue chicken salads.

"This has really filled a hole and made a big difference," said Cecilia Rexford, pantry coordinator at Camarillo Community Church. "This food should never be destroyed."

Rexford picks up about 600 pounds of food every week, and the church helps about 350 low-income people who come to the church and pick items out of the aisles.

"They are all so surprised when they see this food. They say things like: Oh, this is luxury,'" Rexford said.

In the past few months, food donations have been scarce at all charities around the county. Donations are typically dry or canned goods, not fresh food.

Donna Gavid, 48, has been a resident of Simi Valley since 1960. She was recently waiting in line to receive Fresh Rescue items.

"How about veal chops?" a volunteer said. "Refried beans? Tuna?"

"Sure," she said, opening her paper grocery bag.

She said she is grateful for the food. Last week, she took home eggs, milk, bread and so much hamburger meat that she made dinners for several days for her three-person household.

Volunteers try to get the fresh, perishable food in a needy family's refrigerator as soon as possible.

As soon as Simi volunteer Shawn Taylor picks up the 600 pounds of meat, dairy and produce, the next day, it is either given away or cooked at a Monday night hot meal offered at the Sonrise church. Taylor said each pickup can range from 100 to 1,000 pounds of fresh food, depending on what's available.

One of the county's larger food pantries, FOOD Share, based in Oxnard, signed up with the program recently.

Andy Murphy, produce coordinator for the nonprofit, picked up 25,000 pounds of food last month from four Albertsons stores. He then helps distribute food to 95 other agencies.

A steady stream of men and women was coming through the pantry door at the Sonrise church as volunteer Eric Olsen and his son, Taylor, and others offered fresh food.

"How about some sun-dried tomatoes?" asked a volunteer. "And how about some tomato sauce to go with it?"

"Sure, why not," said a smiling client.

Nonprofits interested in signing up for Fresh Rescue should call Rodriguez at 714-300-6438.