The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank announces a $25,000 grant from The Darden Foundation to help provide hunger-relief to Los Angeles County families. The funds will be used to support the Food Bank’s work to alleviate hunger for the one in five people facing food insecurity throughout Los Angeles County.

“One in five people in Los Angeles County struggles with food insecurity, and unfortunately, we have more food-insecure children than any other county in the United States,” said President and CEO, Michael Flood. “This grant from the Darden Foundation will make a meaningful difference in the lives of people who may otherwise go hungry.”

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America^® network, is one of 193 food banks to receive this funding from The Darden Foundation. It is projected that this grant will support Food Bank operations, such as the work of sourcing, acquiring and redistributing more than 1 million pounds of nutritious food on a weekly basis. Because of community support and financial contributions from organizations like the Darden Foundation, these efforts combined feed more than 300,000 individuals every month.

The Darden Foundation is committed to supporting families facing food insecurity in communities across the United States. Their commitment to help is demonstrated through their partnership with Feeding America and their network of 200 food banks across the nation. In Los Angeles County, Olive Garden, Yard House and LongHorn Steakhouse are valued Food Bank partners as part of the Darden restaurant organization.

Feeding America has worked alongside The Darden Foundation for seven years in the fight to end hunger. Thanks to their ongoing support, the Feeding America network has been able to help provide even more meals to families in need.

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About Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has been fighting hunger in Los Angeles County since 1973 and has distributed the equivalent of more than 1 billion meals across our community. The Food Bank provides food to more than 300,000 clients on a monthly basis and distributed 67 million pounds of food in 2018 to children, seniors, working families, veterans and other neighbors in need. To support the vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles, food and products are distributed through a network of more than 600 partner agencies directly to children through our Children’s Backpack and Summer Lunch programs, to approximately 29,000 seniors each month through our Senior Nutrition program, and to working families and college students through our Mobile Food Pantry. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is a 4-star rated charity by Charity Navigator. For more information, visit LAFoodBank.org.

About Darden Restaurants and The Darden Foundation

Darden is a restaurant company featuring a portfolio of differentiated brands that include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s. Our people equal our success, and we are proud to employ 185,000 team members in more than 1,700 restaurants. Together, we create memorable experiences for nearly 400 million guests each year in communities across North America.  The Darden Foundation works to bring to life our spirit of service through its philanthropic support of charitable organizations across the country. Since 1995, The Darden Foundation has awarded more than $90 million in grants to non-profit organizations such as Feeding America, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and American Red Cross. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.