Amid all the chatter about new restaurants and bars in the neighborhood, it’s easy to forget the struggle of those less fortunate than ourselves — the chronically homeless; the working-class family struggling to keep up; elderly and disabled members of society; and, more commonly these days, the recently unemployed.

So it is with the hope of being able to do something about it this year that I announce angelenic‘s Downtown Virtual Food Drive.  All proceeds from the program go directly to food acquisition.  Continue reading for more information about the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank!

According to a recent UCLA study, over one million Angelenos are designated as “food insecure,” meaning that many don’t know where their next meal may come from.

The numbers aren’t the most surprising conclusion of the study:  Food insecurity crosses geographic boundaries, and spans a range of income levels and lifestyles.

Hope

That’s where the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank comes in.

Beginning in Pasadena in 1973, the Foodbank moved to its current location at 41st and Alameda in 1989, expanding gradually over the years to eventually encompass three warehouses and 96,000 square feet.

Acting as the premier distributor of food aid in the Greater Los Angeles area, the Foodbank is a “charity that serves other charities,” distributing produce and canned goods to over 900 charitable organizations (“agencies”) that in turn serve over 675,000 individuals.  Strict nondescrimination rules mean no income, religious affiliation or payment requirements are necessary to receive food aid.

Unfortunately, despite distributing over 40 million pounds of food per year, the center can only reach about half of those in need.

Operations

Loading bays were humming with tractor-trailers being stocked for deliveries to the Antelope Valley on Thursday, just one slice of the daily activities that occur on the site.

In the lobby of the warehouse, red dots fill an oversized map that pinpoints the Foodbank’s 500 largest recipient agencies.  From the San Fernando Valley to Pomona, Lancaster to Harbor City, Los Angeles County is a vast, diverse and needy territory.

Though most donations continue to come in the form of canned items, an increasingly important goal set by the agency is to acquire more fresh fruits and vegetables — especially for low-income children who may not be getting the nutritional content they desperately need.

Changing consumer trends are a double-edged sword for the organization, seeing much more produce arriving from grocery stores, but refrigerated trucks and storage facilities to keep it cool are an expensive investment.

Still, the Foodbank will take what they can get, a fact made apparent by several gigantic pallets of garlic that had just arrived, filling the halls with its trademark aroma.

USDA commodities make up approximately one-quarter of fresh food purchased, while grocery stores, farms and food distributors round out the other main sources of bulk acquisitions.

First-World Hunger, Right Next Door

With headlines announcing factory closures, corporate layoffs and even government-sector belt tightening all too common, it’s no surprise that the food lines are growing.

For working families that may have been living paycheck to paycheck while times were good, the loss of a job can be devastating.  Suburban subdivisions are being hit just as hard as urban areas.

-Watch the 14-minute video produced by the Foodbank that puts faces and stories to the people who rely on this essential service.

Food Donation 2.0

Canned food and produce still make up the biggest value of goods received, but it’s monetary donations that make the biggest impact.  Because it is bought in such large quantities, every dollar donated buys $5.00 worth of food, or four meals’ worth.

Money collected from “virtual food drives” is earmarked specifically for food acquisition purposes only and does not fund operations — though the organization is extremely lean in its dealings, employing 80 full-time employees and managing nearly 15,000 volunteers per year.

In the spirit of giving, Angelenic is sponsoring a Downtown Virtual Food Drive with a goal of $1,000.  Please consider supporting the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank in its endeavor to end hunger in our county!

-Downtown Virtual Food Drive

Thanks to Calvin Fleming of Good PR, and Nancy Nagel and Michael Flood of the LA Regional Foodbank for assisting with this post.