OC church youth group distributes $5,000 in food donations to senior community after Hilary

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- As cleanup continues from Tropical Storm Hilary, a local church youth group jumped into action to make sure seniors had food before and after the storm.

California Zion Church distributed nearly $5,000 worth of food donations to a senior community in Anaheim. The dropoff was originally scheduled for a later date, but church organizers decided to do it early because of the storm.

"The demand has definitely been up because a lot of them haven't been able to leave their homes and be able to go out and get the food that they need, so we knew this was going to be of help to them," said Sara Luca with California Zion Church, New Heaven New Earth.

Residents say the extra food really helps.

"We were able to stock up for an earthquake preparedness kit and then the hurricane the other day - you know we had our dry goods and all that stuff so yeah it really helps us a lot. It makes me feel like crying to be honest with you," said Weldon Carpenter.

"Oh yeah they help me get to the next check, to the next check, and it's a nice thing to donate," said Ronnie Shepherd.

Over 100 students at the church raised the money, and now they're seeing their hard work pay off.

"It was really heartwarming to see," said volunteer Kathy Tu. "I think food really opens up the hearts of so many people and ultimately at the end of the day we're just doing our duty as good neighbors."