At the Hope Market, Shasta community members can shop for free groceries, including fresh eggs and produce

Across the county, about half a dozen food pantries and banks are packing pre-selected boxes of groceries for people seeking food assistance. The Salvation Army’s Hope Market, located off Larkspur Lane, is trying out a different approach: a client-choice model where people can “shop” for what they need. 

Instead of queuing for a pre-packaged box, shoppers are able to browse the market’s three rooms of shelves for meat, dairy, bread, shelf-stable goods and fresh produce. As one shopper was delighted to discover during last week’s market, they even have fresh-grown rainbow swiss chard. 

Clients are able to shop the full market to load their bags once a month, and can swing by weekly to choose additional selections from the bread and pastry selection in the front. The market is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and there’s often a line around the block before the doors even open. 

Anyone can come. Major Tammy Ray, who runs the local branch of the Redding Salvation Army along with her husband Major Kevin Ray, said that there’s no need to sign up online or meet an income qualification standard. Any member of the public is able to show up, be added to the Salvation Army’s computer system, and shop for what they need. 

Ray, whose family has worked for the Salvation Army for six generations, has been involved with the Salvation Army her whole life. “It’s part of my heritage,” she said, noting that the push to adopt a client-choice model came from a similar project her son is running in Montana. 

The food pantry she runs here serves upwards of 250 families a week. With gas and food prices in California climbing dramatically over the past year, Ray said she isn’t surprised to see what she called a surge in demand for free food. While interest used to spike at the end of the month or around holidays, now, the Salvation Army is seeing a consistent wave of clients lining up at the doors. 

“Things are getting so expensive at the grocery store that people who haven’t accessed our food pantry in years are now starting to come back, or people who would never ever consider needing a food pantry are coming,” Ray said. 

The pantry has been operating in Redding for over 50 years, Ray said — but the shift to a client-choice model happened last October. It’s something she and volunteers had been discussing for a while, though she assumed the facility was too small for a market-style pantry. But after visiting a client-choice food pantry in another state that operated out of a single room, she decided it was time the team “quit making excuses.”

There’s a reason the client-choice model is gaining popularity across pantries nation-wide. Not only is it a better way to accommodate clients’ individual nutrition and cultural needs, along with reducing food waste, it offers a more dignified experience. “People have a choice, and it brings dignity,” Ray said. 

According to Ray, the Hope Market is currently the only food pantry in Shasta that uses a fully client-choice model, with other popular programs run by Dignity Health Connected Living and the Good News Rescue Mission providing pre-packed boxes for clients. 

While the Salvation Army’s model is unique, Ray said the county’s food pantries are deeply interconnected behind the scenes. Much of the food available at the market is provided by Dignity Health and the Feeding America Food Rescue Program. Four local grocery stores — Save Mart, Outlet, FoodMaxx and Raley’s — donate deli meats, dairy, produce, and pantry items nearing their expiration date. The market also receives donations of shelf-stable items from the community. 

Any produce left over at the end of the week is given to a local pig farmer, while the remaining perishables are offered to other local food pantries. “We try to be helpful to our neighbors and to our fellow caregivers,” Ray said. 

Rising demand isn’t the only challenge the market is facing. Like volunteer-run organizations across the country are experiencing, there never seems to be enough hands on deck. The market receives many of its volunteers from the College Corps Fellowship at Shasta College, which means the summertime, when most students aren’t in school, is especially tight. 

Even outside of the market’s hours, “the work is constant,” Ray said, describing how donations are constantly coming in for processing and restocking. Usually, around three to six volunteers help check in clients and keep the shelves lined on market day, but she said more help is always needed. 

According to Ray, the market fulfills a greater need than food security alone — it provides community. “We have a group of people that are here every week without fail,” Ray said, adding that she’s nicknamed those consistent clients the “Food Pantry Club.” 

Ray said she hopes the market can serve as a safe space for clients, where people can talk to her and volunteers about whatever is going on in their lives. “We may not be able to fulfill their need, but at least we are there,” Ray said.

Outside the market last week, clients waiting to be checked in chatted idly among themselves, with many cracking jokes as familiar faces joined the queue. One shared with Shasta Scout how much they loved the market — especially the chance to get fresh produce, which she often shares with her dog as a treat. 

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Those interested in volunteering at the Hope Market can find more information here.

Looking for food resources? Here’s a list of local options: 

• Dignity Health’s Connected Living Food Bank website. For program info, call (530) 223-6034.
• 211 Shasta can help connect people to food resources. Call 2-1-1 or visit 211norcal.org/Shasta, scroll down to “Select Your Category” and click on “Food.” 
• 2025 Shasta County Key Services flyer in English and Spanish, provided by 211 Shasta. Lists food distribution sites, contact numbers, meal programs and more.
• Shasta County Food Resources, compiled by Partnership HealthPlan of California. Lists food pantries and programs.
• Local Food Resources by county, on Chico State University’s Center for Healthy Communities’ CalFresh webpage. Offers downloads of Shasta County food site lists, plus English and Spanish lists specifically for older adults.
• The Salvation Army’s Hope Market, located at 2691 Larkspur Lane. The market is held every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Maya Nelson is a student at Brown University. She’s reporting for Shasta Scout as a 2026 summer intern with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program — created by The Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

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