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
Emergency Bill Assistance
We help qualified clients with PG&E and City of Tracy bills.
School Supplies
We give every eligible school-age student schools supplies at the beginning of the 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.
Who We Are
Board of Directors
Renee Reece
Chairman
Robert Oppenheimer
Vice Chairman
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 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.
Diane Ruiz
Assistant Director
Diane worked for over 35 years in the public sector. She enjoys volunteering at Tracy Interfaith and having the opportunity to meet and serve others.
Additional Board Members
Pat Benge, Southwinds Church
Lorna Ziller, St. Bernard’s Catholic Church
Bonnie McCreary, 1st Presbyterian Church
John Williams, People of Christ Missionary Church
Carol Goularte, Grace Christian Church
Lucy Kaye, Journey Church
Organization
Tracy Interfaith Ministries is a Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Tax ID # is 94-3150638.