Sears helps East Palo Alto nonprofit after theft

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- The Ecumenical Hunger Program has helped families in East Palo Alto for 40 years. But the nonprofit was left without a way to collect donated food after a thief broke into their two vans and stole the batteries.

Surveillance video shows a man breaking into a parking lot around 2 a.m. In the clip, he walks towards a van and breaks the window, then reaches inside and opens the back door. You can't really make out his face, but you can see he is carrying several bags.

Officials say inside are car batteries and other items.

"We found the backdoor to our cargo van open, the window busted out, and then we could see the hoods were popped open on both vehicles," said Lakesha Roberts with Ecumenical Hunger Program.

The vans are essential for the nonprofit to pick up food and deliver furniture and transport kids.

"It really stops the flow of our program," said Roberts. "We use our cargo van to pick up all of our food donations. We pick up from stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, Sprouts."

The donations are then handed out to families in need who live in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

Residents found it hard to believe that anyone would steal from this organization that does so much for the community.

"With an organization like this that's helping the community and our children, it's really a shame for someone to come in here and just vandalize things like that," said East Palo Alto resident Felicia Turner.

Fellow resident Pearlie Glover added, "If this place wasn't here, I don't know what we would do half of the time and the people that did that, you know, it's really a shame."

Late Wednesday afternoon, Sears offered to donate the two batteries.

The organization hopes someone will donate money to help replace the broken windows.