Free Resources in Boulder Creek

The short version

• Free groceries every Friday, 3 p.m. until the food is gone, in the lot next to Jenna Sue's Cafe downtown. No sign-up, no questions. Junction Park if it's raining.
• A free library card covers wifi, public computers, printing, museum and park passes, borrowable tools and equipment, and free garden seeds.
• The BCRPD Community Tool Shed lists Saturday hours from 8 to 11 a.m.; submit its rental request form before planning around a particular tool.
• Valley Churches United Missions in Ben Lomond runs an every-other-week food pantry for San Lorenzo Valley residents.
• Need help fast and don't know where to start? Dial 211 for food, housing, and benefits.

Printable version: where to get help in Boulder Creek gathers these on one printable page, which is easier to pass along than a URL.

On Friday afternoons, folding tables go up in the open lot next to Jenna Sue's Cafe and the produce comes out at 3 p.m. Nobody asks who you are. That's the shape of a lot of the free help in Boulder Creek: small, run by neighbors, and easy to miss if nobody points you at it. Here is the running list.

The Boulder Creek Branch Library

A library card is free, and it does more work than most people expect. The Boulder Creek Branch Library is at 13390 West Park Avenue (831-427-7703), open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A card gets you a lot more than books:

• Books, movies, audiobooks, and music, plus free wifi, public computers, and wireless printing.
• Discover & Go: free and discounted passes to museums and parks around the region.
• The Library of Things: borrowable objects and equipment, not just media.
• The Felton Seed Library: free garden seeds you can take and grow, which is handy in a valley full of gardeners.
• Story time, book groups, and craft and STEAM programs across all the branches.

Free Food Fridays

Every Friday, free food goes out to anyone who wants it, no questions asked. It runs from 3 p.m. until the food is gone, rain or shine, in front of the open lot next to Jenna Sue's Cafe downtown. If it's raining, the giveaway moves to Junction Park.

There's no proof of income and no sign-up. Come and take what you need, and donations are welcome but never required. The food is leftover produce and groceries from the Grey Bears Healthy Food program, distributed here through the Boulder Creek Recreation and Park District, the local park district, thanks to a crew of volunteers who set it up every week.

Valley Churches United Missions food pantry (in Ben Lomond)

A few miles down Highway 9, Valley Churches United Missions (VCUM) runs a food pantry for San Lorenzo Valley residents at 9400 Highway 9 in Ben Lomond (831-336-8258). Enrolled households can pick up groceries every other week: staples like pasta, cereal, canned goods, and meat, plus fresh milk, eggs, and produce.

Pantry hours are Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m. to noon, with a seniors-only window on the first and third Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. VCUM also helps with clothing and seasonal programs, so it's worth a call if you need more than food.

The BCRPD Community Tool Shed

The BCRPD Community Tool Shed was born after the CZU fire and lends tools ranging from shovels and rakes to larger project equipment. Its current page lists Saturday hours from 8 to 11 a.m., with returns due from 8 to 9, and asks borrowers to submit a rental request form before pickup.

Check the current Tool Shed page and rental form before you head over, because availability depends on the item and requested date.

Little Free Libraries around town

The take-a-book, leave-a-book boxes are scattered all over Boulder Creek, and once you start noticing them you see them everywhere. Here's where to look:

• Garrahan Park
• The Boulder Creek Rec Center, near the swing set
• Along Highway 9 northbound, just south of Bear Creek Road
• A bookshelf inside the Treehouse Cafe
• At Joe's Bar (note: Joe's is a 21-and-over bar)
• Sunshine Lane, in the alley between Redwood and Hazel avenues
• In front of Camp Joy

More of these are dotted through the rest of the valley in Ben Lomond and Felton, too.

A few more free things

• Buy Nothing Boulder Creek: a local Facebook group where neighbors give away and ask for free stuff, from furniture to garden starts. Part of the Buy Nothing Project.
• The BCRPD Foundation community potluck: a free, everyone-welcome community meal on the second Sunday of the month, 4 to 7 p.m. It's outdoors at Garrahan Park (15555 Highway 9) in the warm months and moves indoors from October through March, to a location the district announces each season. Bring a dish to share, and canned goods for the food drive if you can. Recurring free meals and community events also land on our community events calendar.
• Junction Park and the town's other parks are open to everyone at no cost, and the park is also the rainy-day home for Free Food Fridays.
• Free wifi is available at the library during open hours.

If you need a little more help

Most county services are down the highway in Santa Cruz. A few of them come up the valley or work over the phone, and those are the ones worth writing down:

• 211 Santa Cruz County: dial 211 or search online for help with food, housing, benefits, and just about anything else. Start there if you don't know where else to start.
• Second Harvest Food Bank: runs free grocery distributions across the county. Find the nearest one at thefoodbank.org or call 831-662-0991.
• Meals on Wheels: hot weekday lunches for adults 60 and older at the Highlands Park Senior Center on Highway 9 in Ben Lomond, plus delivery for homebound seniors. Call 831-464-3180.
• Grey Bears: county residents 55 and older can get a free weekly grocery bag. Call 831-479-1055.
• CalFresh (SNAP): monthly grocery money if you qualify. Apply at BenefitsCal.com or call 888-421-8080.

Ways to give back

If you're on the other side of it and want to help, the Buy Nothing group is the easiest place to pass things on. Free Food Fridays and VCUM both take donations, and Grey Bears will pick up extra food or glean fruit from your trees (danielle@greybears.org).

Know a free resource we missed, or spot a detail that's changed? Tell us at hello@bouldercreeklocal.com and we'll add it. For utilities, county contacts, and more local services in one place, see the Residents guide. If work is the thing you need, our valley job board is free to browse with no account and no signup.