Page 17 - Southern California Gaming Guide • May 2020

Closed Casinos Continue Community Donations
get between five and 10 new clients each week who need emergency transitional housing and this donation from Pechanga will allow us to continue offering those services. We are so grateful.”
The Community Mission of Hope provides food services and assistance for more than 5,000 families each year. The organization provides food, hygiene products and resources for families in need throughout Southwest Riverside County.
They offered drive-through food assistance for the needy, but recent grocery store product unavailability had severely cut what they could offer as stores often delivered day-old breads and items displayed past their sell-by dates.
“We’re happy to know that people who need it most in our region will be getting the food assistance they need during this difficult time,” said Jared Munoa, President of the Pechanga Development Corporation.
“It’s a lot of food. The amount of food service our team provides can be staggering and we give our guests the best quality. We are very glad it’s going to deserving folks who are undergoing unprecedented circumstances.”
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Wheels is devoted to the health, safety and well-being of San Diego seniors. Meals on Wheels San Diego County subsidizes 60% of the costs for meals, delivery, and other services provided, regardless of a senior’s ability to pay.
Pechanga Resort Casino Donates $100,000 of Food to Local Charities
Dozens of giant 25-pound bags of onions, carrots and celery, pallets of fresh ripe strawberries and blackberries, thousands of pounds of cantaloupes and honeydew melons plus ten thousand dollars worth of milk (461 gallons) and dairy products — all that and a lot more — was sent on March 18th by Pechanga Resort Casino to three charities in Riverside County that regularly support disadvantaged and homeless people in the region. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, these groups had been even harder hit.
Pechanga Resort Casino’s temporary closure announced on Saturday, March 14th, shut down the
casino, hotel, spa, golf course, as well as the resort’s 20 bars and restaurants and banquet kitchens for the health and safety of its team members, Tribal members and guests. After doors closed to the public Monday, March 16th at 12 p.m., food and beverage staff stored food stuffs with long shelf lives that could be used once the resort/casino reopens. However, they were still left with half a dozen, very large walk-in refrigerators filled with produce and dairy.
Project T.O.U.C.H. and the Community Mission of Hope, both based in Temecula, and the Murrieta Pantry came to Pechanga on March 18th, escorted by public safety officers, and loaded the vast amounts of food onto their trucks. Project T.O.U.C.H. offers an emergency women’s shelter and transitional housing for homeless individuals and families.
“We debated whether we would stop taking new clients because of the food issue,” said Anne Unmacht, Director of Project T.O.U.C.H. “We
MAY 2020
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
PAGE 17