Our Mission

We provide food and clothing to low-income and homeless families and individuals in Tracy, California. We also provide emergency utility assistance, as well as referrals for services we are not able to provide.

Our Story

Tracy Interfaith Ministries began in February of 1988 with six volunteers from various churches in town who joined forces to care for the needy in Tracy. The operation quickly expanded and we now have over one hundred volunteers who run our food bank, clothing store, and holiday giving programs.

We moved to our current building in 2008, which was built entirely with donations from the community. We lease the land from the City of Tracy for $1 a year.

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization run by a Board of Directors. We receive strong support from individuals, organizations, businesses, and churches in Tracy.

Thank you to Steven Aviles for creating the below video! In the video, you’ll see parts of our facility and hear from our Executive Director about services that we provide.

Where do we get the food?

We collect donations from several local grocery stores every day. We purchase food in bulk from Second Harvest Food Bank in Manteca, food suppliers, and local grocery stores. We spend about $8,000 a month purchasing food to distribute to clients above and beyond what we receive from stores and donors.

We also receive food from local food drives and individual donors.

Who do we serve?

We serve low-income individuals and families who live in Tracy. All our services are provided free of charge as long as the client qualifies as low-income (based on government-determined income levels.)

The majority of our clients are housed and have jobs. We also serve those who are experiencing homelessness.

Food

Clients receive a box of groceries once a week. It usually includes meat, milk, eggs, cheese, beans, rice, pasta, peanut butter, bread and snacks. We tailor the food box to meet the client’s individual needs and living situation. We do not provide any prepared meals.

Clothing

Clients can shop for free in our clothing store and find clothes, shoes, household items, toys, books, and more for themselves and their families.

Emergency Bill Assistance

We help qualified clients with PG&E and City of Tracy bills.

Backpacks

We give every eligible school-age and high school student a new backpack filled with school supplies at the beginning of every school year.

Thanksgiving

We give out a turkey and sides (vegetables, potatoes, rolls, yams, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce). We partner with local churches to provide all the Thanksgiving meals.

Christmas

We provide a Christmas meal (similar to the Thanksgiving meal) and gifts for children under the age of 18. We work with Brighter Christmas to make sure every child who needs Christmas gifts receives them.

Who We Are

Board of Directors

Renee Reece

Chairman

Renee has volunteered at Tracy Interfaith for over 25 years and has been the board chairman for 10 years. She has always felt that she receives much more than she can ever give while working with our clients. She has been married 52 years and has 2 daughters, 13 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Robert Oppenheimer

Vice Chairman

Robert is the CEO of Accel Alliance in San Francisco. He sits on the board of Reltek, LLC and the Keiretsu Forum K2 Velocity Program. He also volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America and the Mission San Rafael Archangel Preservation Foundation.

Sara Gamache

Secretary

Sara has served as the Tracy Interfaith Secretary for many years and also serves at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

Debbie Jones

Treasurer

Debbie has a BS in Accounting from CSU Hayward. She worked for Chevron Corporation as a Manager of State Income Tax and Audit. After retiring, Debbie wanted to find some meaningful volunteer work and found that Tracy Interfaith Ministries was the perfect place.

Frances Swenson

Executive director

Frances has a strong connection and commitment to Tracy, born and raised. She worked in the corporate sector in the Bay Area for over 30 years in accounting, contracts, and commissions.

After volunteering at Tracy Interfaith for 2 years after retirement, she took the position of Executive Direction in 2023.

Frances also volunteers at The Grand Theater. She enjoys cooking, music, travel and sharing time with family and friends.

Amy Scudder

Assistant Director

Amy has been a volunteer at Tracy Interfaith Ministries for over 10 years and believes it is a wonderful place to serve. Other community service includes Journey Christian Church and Tracy Woman’s Club.

Kathy Breeden

Assistant Director

Kathy is a longtime Tracy resident who worked for Lucky Stores for 30 years before retiring. She chooses to volunteer at Tracy Interfaith because it’s a wonderful organization and she believes giving back to her community is important. She is also an avid animal lover.