Who We Are
To help individuals and families achieve stability and transformation in their lives, ultimately influencing and uplifting the surrounding communities.
What We Do
Santa Maria Urban Ministry was founded in 1983 to provide emergency food to families in downtown San Jose, California. Santa Maria has provided a food pantry continuously for more than 40 years.
Since our beginnings, the community has shaped what Santa Maria becomes. Programs have grown here because neighbors asked, showed up, and stayed — addressing immediate needs and building real pathways to stability and long-term change. For neighbors experiencing homelessness, our Warm Hearts Initiative is that first point of contact: bagged lunches, hygiene kits, and sleeping bags through the winter. Every pathway begins somewhere. Every person deserves a dignified starting point.
An outreach ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, Santa Maria welcomes people of all faiths or none and does not discriminate on any basis.
