Philanthropic efforts by locals Jack Fitzsimmons and Walter Gendell continue to generate powerful ripple effects in the Coachella Valley.
The philanthropists' FitzDell Gifting Fund, a donor-advised fund hosted by the Inland Empire Community Foundation, has directly helped the Cathedral City Senior Center with its signature food bank.
"Jack and Walter's fund helped us get new initiatives started in the past, but they also help us through tough times — this funding came during one of those tough times," said the organization's chief executive officer, Geoff Corbin. "When uncertainty around SNAP benefits hit, our food bank, which typically sees and feeds about 450 people every Monday — rain or shine, holiday or not — there was a dramatic increase
in need."
Chief Operating Officer Vic Ide said that as soon as the center learned about the SNAP benefits being cut or delayed, staff sent an email to its entire database.
"It basically said two things," Ide said, "One: If you eat food, we have food, so come down to the food bank Monday and we'll make sure you get food. Two: If you have the means to help us, we would love for you to consider a donation, or if you want to donate food, bring it down to the center. Help us stock the shelves."
That's when they received a call from Fitzsimmons and Gendell.
Policy changes in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act initiated suspension of SNAP/CalFresh benefits in fall 2025. The aftereffects led to court battles; the state of California resisted the measure. The issue was further tangled during government shutdowns. Then addendums were made to those who actually qualified for benefits moving forward.
"There was big concern," Ide said. "It significantly increased the number of people who came to us because they were really food insecure."
The center's food bank operates every Monday, distributing more than 10,000 pounds of food each week to hundreds of low-income, underserved, unhoused or food-insecure families. The effort extends beyond just seniors. The center relies on its strong partnership with the FIND Food Bank as well as supermarkets, restaurants, local businesses and private donations for the food.
"We have one of the largest all-volunteer run food banks in the valley, and it's a really unique personal shopping experience," Corbin said. "They're not just handed a box of food, which in and of itself is a great thing. What we also do for folks is deliver and tailor it to what they need. This is helpful for people who can't necessarily shop."
For people who can, Corbin added that they can "shop" at the food bank and pick the items they want from a vast selection that comes from Vons, Trader Joe's, Clark's Nutrition and other grocery outlets.
"We've built a huge collaboration of food-security partners that make this a unique shopping experience that can help people with particular nutrition needs, like, celiac or diabetes, or those who are vegetarian or vegan," Corbin said. "We're pretty good about helping you get what you need to stay healthy and stay nutritious."
Corbin shared several things to note heading into fall.
"I'd love for people to know or remember that there's so much more to us than our name suggests," he said. "Cathedral City Senior Center is how we started, and we've been doing that work for more than 45 years now. But we're actually so much more than that. We cover the entire mid-valley, and we cover much more than seniors. We've become a social services center that is bilingual, multigenerational. There's also a rec center and a community center that serves the entire area."
The food bank, he said, is one of many entry points into the center. "We find that if people are hungry, a lot of times they have other needs, too," Corbin said, noting the extensive array of classes and programs offered and other community-relief efforts.
"There's a lot happening in this building," he said.
Learn more at cathedralcenter.org.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. Visit iegives.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: FitzDell Gifting Fund revives local food bank efforts
