East County Community Helps Fund Noah Homes Upgrades

Noah Homes—a Spring Valley nonprofit providing residential care and services to adults with developmental disabilities—hosted a ribbon-cutting Friday morning to celebrate a new pantry system that was made possible thanks to nearly $150,000 in donations from the East County community, an effort that was spearheaded by the La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club.  

Representatives from Feeding America San Diego, President/CEO of San Diego Rescue Mission Herb Johnson, a representative from Senator Joel Anderson's office, members of La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club and other community members attended the ceremony to show their support. In addition to the ribbon cutting, Feeding America San Diego surprised Noah Homes with a donation of 1,000 pounds of food. 

"We pride ourselves in providing exceptional care for our 70 residents with developmental disabilities and it would not be possible without this incredible outpouring of support," said Molly Nocon, CEO of Noah Homes. "The ribbon cutting marks an important milestone in community collaboration and we will continue to work together in order to improve efficiency, reduce costs and serve even more people. I cannot say thank you enough!"

In less than two years, Noah Homes’ work with Feeding America San Diego has resulted in the distribution of 65,000 pounds of food, equating to more than 50,000 meals for 850 clients.

Partnerships with local food banks and Feeding America San Diego programs are so successful that Noah Homes had outgrown the ability to safely store the quantity of food and dry goods being received. Food costs were reduced by 40 percent, but it became increasingly difficult take advantage of the bulk bargains as storage space reached capacity. 

Thanks to a generous grant from La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club in conjunction with other local clubs and the Caster Foundation, a $500 grant request blossomed into a $143,000 success story of a new industrial racking system that would triple the storage potential and allow for a much more efficient inventory process, while also greatly reducing waste.

Noah Homes was overwhelmed with the magnitude of the gift from rotary clubs, families, donors and longtime supporters. The project allowed Noah Homes and its residents the ability to purchase a second industrial freezer, pallet jacks to safely move large donations and food orders, and additional rolling racks to move food from storage areas into the eight homes.

Due to the reorganization, the existing single ADA bathroom was re-located to a free standing building that now made room for two environmentally friendly restrooms, complete with solatubes, hand dryers and green run-off for the roof. The wheelchair ramp for the building was also upgraded and is now easily accessed by our aging residents.

Noah Homes serves adults with a wide array of developmental disabilities and is celebrating 30 years of service to the community. For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.noahhomes.org or Facebook.