Thousands of Californians line up for food giveaway

Church sees number of needy more than quadruple

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A northern California church witnessed first-hand the economic toll the Coronavirus is taking on its community.

"I had a lady here yesterday with four little kids in the car, and she says, 'I'm a waitress, and I don't have any food." says Pastor Jim Gallagher.

That woman and her kids were among the thousands who lined up for a food giveaway at Thursday at the Cathedral of Faith in San Jose. Normally the church serves about 400 families a week, but on this day that number climbed to more than 2,000.

So many people showed up, the cars created a traffic jam in the surrounding neighborhood. The church wasn't prepared for the sheer number of people, and was caught unprepared.

"It breaks my heart, you know, in my own family, I have five children. Three of them are out of work right now. They all got laid off this week." said Pastor Gallagher.

The Pastor says, as hard as things may appear right now, he believes faith will carry everyone through.