Juan will turn 69 in a few days. He shares an apartment with two roommates in order to make rent. Juan has been receiving food assistance through the monthly CSFP distributions at Lincoln Heights Senior Center. “I just want to say how grateful I am for the food that you give to us because we are poor and we need the food,” he says.

Juan enjoyed working as a cashier at a supermarket for many years, but now he is unable to work so he says he would go hungry without the food he receives from his local agency. He now enjoys socializing and doing activities at the senior center. “I like to go to bingo and some of the exercise classes. Everybody needs exercise!”

When asked about the pervasive issue of hunger in L.A. County, he expressed concern not for himself, but for others. “You have to understand that the wages that most people in the community earn is not a living wage, especially if you have children,” he explained. “It’s really too bad that children go hungry.”

Juan says he wishes more people knew about the Food Bank. “A lot of people don’t know about it and they are going hungry.”

Juan concludes, “Me and the other elderly people appreciate the food you give to us. Thank you.”