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Gold Certification recognizes efforts to make healthy food more accessible.
Fresh produce, dairy products, meat and packaged groceries filled the renovated food pantry at The Salvation Army Tehachapi (California) Service Center as more than 55 families waited in the rain for the pantry’s first-ever evening distribution.
Open from 5 to 7 p.m., the monthly evening pantry is part of an effort to better meet community needs by expanding access for those working traditional hours.
“We made a number of changes and updates to better serve the variety of people who rely on the pantry in our community,” said Kyle Yates, Tehachapi Service Center Coordinator.
The updated setup and after-hour distributions are among several changes implemented through an eight-month partnership with CalFresh Healthy Living and Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), helping the pantry earn Gold Certification for expanding healthy food access in the Tehachapi area.
The Gold Certification recognizes food pantries that meet high standards for healthy food distribution, client choice and dignity-centered services while connecting visitors with additional community resources.
In addition, it places the pantry among a network of Gold Certified pantries recognized through Leah’s Pantry, a California nonprofit focused on nutrition security and healthy food access.
According to Yates, earning the designation required months of planning and collaboration.
In summer 2025, representatives from CalFresh Healthy Living visited the pantry to assess its operations and identify opportunities for improvement.
The assessment found the pantry was not far off from being Gold Certified, with only a handful of improvements needed.
Over the following months, the pantry took steps to become more organized, including creating clearly labeled sections for specific dietary needs and expanding its selection of gluten-free products, vegetarian proteins and dairy alternatives.
They also adopted a client-choice model and redesigned layout, allowing visitors to select the food items that best meet their households’ needs.
“It’s not just about providing a service. It’s so much more than that. It’s creating relationships and making people feel welcome.”
Sharon McKay
“People can come in and know they have a choice in what they take home,” Yates said. “It’s more of a shopping experience than simply receiving pre-selected food.”
Partnerships with nearby retailers, including Dollar General and Walmart, helped increase the availability of fresh and nutritious foods, with new fruits and vegetables arriving throughout the week.
Yates noted that the pantry serves families from communities tucked throughout the mountains and rural areas of eastern Kern County, where access to food and services can be limited.
Some clients travel as far as 40 miles to access the service center and food pantry.
“There are a lot of working families in or near Tehachapi that maybe one or both parents work jobs and sometimes it’s still hard to put food on the table,” Yates said, adding that distance, few options and grocery costs can create additional challenges.
With only two staff members at the Service Center, the pantry relies on volunteers to help with grocery pickups, stocking and assisting during distribution.
“We definitely could not operate at the capacity that we do without volunteers,” Yates said, adding that they can serve up to 100 families each day.
Among those volunteers is Sharon McKay, who has spent the past six years helping keep the pantry running four days a week while also preparing meals for the service center’s after-school program.
For McKay, volunteering has become about more than lending a helping hand. Over time, she said she has gotten to know many of the pantry’s regular visitors, taking time to check in or pray with them.
“It’s not just about providing a service. It’s so much more than that,” she said. “It’s creating relationships and making people feel welcome.”
She said the expanded hours and client-choice model have already begun reaching families who hadn’t previously visited.
During the first evening distribution, she recalled helping a mother of four who had never visited the pantry before because her work schedule prevented her from attending daytime distributions.
“She was kind of hesitant, but I said, ‘Oh no, we’re so happy you’re here,’” McKay said. “The gratitude was priceless.”
She added that the expanded selection allowed the woman to pick out an item for each of her children—something that typically would not have fit within her budget.
“Just knowing we can help take a little bit of that burden off a family is huge,” McKay said.
Yates said many pantry visitors make a point of letting volunteers and staff know how much the service means to their families. Some have even returned with homemade jams and baked goods made from ingredients they received through the pantry.
For Yates, those moments are a reminder that the pantry provides more than food.
“These relationships and connections are so valuable to a community,” he said. “I hope people walk away feeling loved.”
Do Good:
- The Salvation Army is dedicated to alleviating hunger in our community. By working together, we can ensure that everyone has access to the food they need to thrive. See more here.
