East Bay non-profit's delivery truck used to feed needy stolen

CONCORD, Calif. (KTVU) - People at an East Bay non-profit are asking for help after a critical piece of their equipment was stolen. A surveillance system in place at the Monument Crisis Center caught a good look at the man just before he stole the truck around 10:30 Monday night.

The center is in the business of helping people.

"We see 4,500 people a month. That's 4,500 mouths to feed a month," said Executive Director Sandra Scherer.

A critical part of the machinery that feeds Contra Costa County's needy is a Ford 350 pickup truck. It's used to carry donation barrels and food to and from the center.

"That truck has been a huge resource for us. It was donated to us from PG&E last year. And since that time we've been able to triple our resources out into the area," said Scherer.

But on Monday night around 10:30, someone stole it from outside the facility. Surveillance video shows it driving out of the Market Street parking lot.

"I can't believe that from right under the Monument Crisis Center sign, that someone's coming in and taking that truck. I thought why someone would do that when we're an organization that's strictly here to help people in the community," exclaimed Scherer.

Just before the thief took it, a camera caught him walking up to the front of the building and looking inside. You could even see some kind of a tool in his hand.

"I want to find the truck; I want to hope that it's in one piece. So that we can go back to doing the work that we're doing," said Scherer.

Concord Police told KTVU there has been a rash of this kind of truck theft this year with 30 stolen Ford and similar trucks since January first.