Foodbank Programs & Services

Sources of Product

 
  • Food Industry Donations include Local Product Donations, Fresh Produce Donations, Feeding America Donations, Salvage from Retailers, Extra Helpings Donations, Other Food Banks and Food Drives
  • USDA Commodities for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
  • Purchased Food includes Shop Smart & Save, FEMA/Emergency Food & Shelter Program, Kids PowerPack, BackPack and Summer Meals, and Purchases for Other Programs
 
Distribution of Product and Foodbank Programs
 

FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD DISTRIBUTION & MEAL PROGRAMS
 

General Distribution of Product to Agencies
The general distribution of donated food and product and purchased food to charitable agency sites located throughout Los Angeles County.  In 2005, the Foodbank launched the Agency Delivery Program to provide better access for agencies located in the Antelope and San Fernando Valley.

  • Total number of Agency Sites: 900

  • Number of unduplicated people served annually by food pantries and soup kitchens: 674,000 people

Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) Household Distribution
This program provides agencies, primarily food pantries, with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodities at no cost.  Organizations (primarily food pantries) that provide food baskets to low-income individuals are eligible to receive USDA commodities. Each participating agency must submit monthly participation reports. The EFAP program is open to all low income clients.  Soup kitchens and other hot meal programs open to the public are also eligible to receive USDA commodities through EFAP

Rapid Food Distribution
This new program allows a “just-in-time” delivery of fresh produce and other perishable foods to agencies before their distribution.  Given that many agencies have very limited refrigeration, this allows nutritious food to get to recipients at agency sites, primarily food pantries.

Extra Helpings

This program helps our agencies obtain prepared, perishable food and other product primarily for meal programs.  The Foodbank’s staff pairs restaurants, hotels, caterers and other donors who have extra food or product with nearby agencies who collect the food and use it to feed their clients. For information on how to donate food through this program, please contact the Foodbank's Product Donations Department.

 

 

SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)

The CSFP program is targeted for seniors 60 years and older, pregnant women, mothers postpartum for up to one year and children ages one to six. Each client must meet age and/or income qualifications required by the USDA. Qualified clients will receive one of six age-prescribed food kits on a monthly basis.  More than 7,200 people, primarily seniors, are served at CSFP distribution sites throughout LA County

 

Brown Bag Program

The Brown Bag Program is administered by senior volunteers, many of whom are also food recipients. Senior volunteers pick up food from the Foodbank and take it to participating Brown Bag sites. At the sites, the volunteers repackage the food in grocery bags, register participants and distribute the food to low-income seniors. Shut-in and handicapped seniors have food delivered to their homes.

This program is a unique solution for alleviating hunger among the elderly. Each week, the Foodbank sets aside nutritious items from its inventory.  Volunteers, many are seniors themselves, arrive early every Friday morning to pick up the food and take it to 20 Brown Bag sites where they pack the food in grocery bags for distribution to low-income seniors; the disabled and infirm receive their bags at home. 

 

KIDS NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Kids Cafe™ “Power Pack” Snack Program and Summer Food Service Program

This program addresses the needs for proper nutrition and quality day and after school care in low-income communities.  Healthy meals and snacks are served to needy children in a safe, nurturing environment.  Children in Kids Cafe™ often receive tutoring assistance, participate in sports, and benefit from mentoring.  Through our Kids Cafe sites, the Foodbank provides Power Packs, a nutritious snack box for children. For sites that can accommodate serving a noontime meal during the summer, funding through the Summer Food Service Program provides the resources to deliver a nutritious lunch to Kids Cafe sites.  An outside contractor is used to prepare and deliver the meals.  Currently there are 21 Kids Cafe sites serving 1,500 children daily.

 

BackPack Program
A program based on successful models developed at other food banks, the BackPack Program provides children at risk of hunger with a backpack full of food on a Friday to provide nutrition during the weekend.  The program currently serves over 450 children at four schools.

 

 



 
Other Funds that Support Agencies and Programs
 

Children and Youth Fund

Our Children and Youth program provides food grants to charities that primarily serve children and youth. With these grants, charities receive food from the Foodbank at no cost. These food grants enable charities to stretch their resources and provide essential counseling services, training programs, and other services for needy youth.This program provides food grants to agencies that primarily serve infants and children: child care centers, after school programs, community centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, youth shelters, battered women’s shelters, and homes for runaway youth.  These food grants enable agencies to stretch resources and provide more food, essential counseling services, training programs, and other programs for needy youth.

Emergency Food Fund

In order to supplement our donated food inventory, financial donations made to our Emergency Food Fund (EFF) allow the Foodbank to purchase high-demand, nutritious food items.  Traditionally, EFF donations have been used to purchase the food, and then the food is distributed with a shared maintenance fee.  Recently, virtual food drive and similar donations have been used to purchase the food and to fund expenses incurred to distribute this food, thereby allowing the food to be distributed free of charge to agencies.  This change was made because many agencies have very limited budgets, and with the food distributed free of charge, more agencies are able to benefit from this food.

 

Food For Families

Similar to our Children and Youth program, Food For Families provides food grants to agencies that primarily serve families with children.  Donated funds are credited to agencies’ Foodbank accounts, allowing agencies to receive food from the Foodbank at no cost.  These food grants enable agencies to stretch resources and provide more food and essential services for needy families.

 

Food Distribution Fund

In 2007, our Food Distribution Fund helped provide the resources to distribute nearly 20 million pounds of free food to our agencies.  Examples of these foods include bread, dairy products, juices, frozen foods and staple food items.  Donations to the fund offset expenses for processing, storing and distributing donated food and allow agencies to access high demand food items. 

Disaster Relief Fund
Funds designated for this fund are utilized to offset the costs of collection, storage and distribution of product in the event of a disaster.

 
 
Other Foodbank Programs/Activities
 

Public Policy and Advocacy

As a leader in the fight against hunger, the Foodbank advocates on behalf of our network of agencies and the people we serve on the federal, State and local level.  The Foodbank’s primary focus is on food and nutrition issues in order to reduce hunger throughout Los Angeles County. 

 

Hunger Education
In 2004, the Foodbank and the UCLA Center for Health and policy research co-published a policy brief detailing hunger in Los Angeles County. The policy brief provided food insecurity statistics for eight strategic planning areas (SPA) in Los Angeles County. The Foodbank held policy brief meetings for each SPA to provide hunger statistics for each agency’s area.

In 2006, the Foodbank published Hunger in Los Angeles County 2006, the most comprehensive report to date on the problem of hunger in our community. 

 

Food Stamp Outreach 
The Foodbank launched a Food Stamp Outreach and Research Project in 2001. Through a grant from the USDA, the Foodbank we developed a food stamp outreach project that allowed our Outreach Workers to conduct outreach at 70 different agencies throughout the county. The Outreach Team was equipped with laptops and software that allowed them to evaluate each client’s eligibility.  

 

Recently, the Foodbank has been instrumental in changing and forming food stamp policy for Los Angeles County and the State of California. The Foodbank continues to work with LA County and agencies on food stamp outreach activities. 

 

Nutrition Education
With growing concerns on childhood obesity and senior nutrition, many of our agencies have shown an interest in nutrition education workshops and information. The popularity of out nutrition education workshops at the All Agencies Conference continues to grow from year to year.  Through our Kids Café Program we provide weekly/monthly nutrition education classes at selected Kids Cafe sites.