The local nonprofit organization, FeedTheWorldBec will help individuals who may not have a chimney or proper shelter this holiday season and year round.
Rebecca Kincade, 21, is a student at San Diego City College and the founder of FeedTheWorldBec who provides food and essential items to unsheltered individuals county-wide. In partnership with Rhythm & Brunch San Diego, the nonprofit will put on a Secret Santa event to sponsor families with Christmas presents for children, a meal, and other essential items.
The deadline to nominate families to participate in the Secret Santa is Dec.17. Through this partnership, the nonprofit is also hosting a Blanket and Bandages Holiday Drive to help protect and provide individuals living in the streets of Downtown San Diego and surrounding areas with blankets, bandages and meals.
“We try to love our neighbors, and all of our neighbors. Not just let them go by the wayside. There are homeless communities everywhere, and we cant just ignore them. We can't pretend these problems don't exist because they do. Especially in California. We are trying to give back to the community as best as we can,” Kincade said.
This is an effort to help the unsheltered community and people in need during the cold winter months. During this time, FeedTheWorldBeck aims to provide insulated blankets, tents and protective clothing such as scarves, gloves, hats among other things to help prepare the unsheltered community.
The nonprofit organization meets communities where they are at, whether it is under bridges or up embankments. Through these efforts, Kincade said to have seen many communties being cleared. In August, the California Department of Transportation began clearing “high priority” homeless camps.
A Housing Inventory Count Report shows that there were fewer than one bed for every three people last year in cities and counties statewide. However, the state has poured more money into the homeless community between 2021 and 2023.
According to Kincade, some people losing everything that they own during these clearings, including items which provide them some semblance of home and belonging.
“It really breaks my heart. It’s crazy to see and the fact that they give them such a short time to get out of whatever area they are occupying is crazy to me,” Kincade said.
The nonprofit works to help as many people through their services with a team of volunteers. As a native to Atlanta, GA., Kincade is not yet familiar with areas of need in San Diego. She continues to learn by expanding her services and working alongside local nonprofit organizations. Last month, FeedTheWorldBec was one of many community partners in the South Bay Community Services (SBSC) march and rally to support unhoused and runaway youth in the South Bay on Nov.16 at Memorial Park in Chula Vista.
During Thanskgiving, FeedTheWorldBec held a food drive which fed approximately 200 people and provided four families with Thanksgiving meals. The team spent approximately 14 hours in the kitchen for this event.
Kincade shared her lived experience as an unhoused and runaway youth. By the end of 2019, she was accepted to Spellman Performance for an internship to train professional athletes and moved to San Diego. She currently works as an employee with Spellman Performance, and with DC Athletics Performance Lab as a trainer.
“I have a great passion to give back to those like me and let them know that there are people who do care about them," Kincade said. "We are all one paycheck away from being homeless or facing the possibility of being homeless. That is all too real reality for way too many people, including myself."
On top of juggling two jobs and building a nonprofit organization, Kincade is a student and plans to major in Excersise Science and minor in Finance.
"I am a student too and I see others go through the struggle of trying to work and pay. Rent in California is really unrealistic. There is a lot of students who are facing homelessness and food instability. That is another community that I'm really Trying to help in the future by providing laptops and school supplies. I just really hope to expand and to keep this organization going so we can keep housing people," Kincade said.
