The initiative is dedicated to highlighting nourishing acts of kindness while inspiring and encouraging others to give back to their community.

On August 24, actor and entertainer Matt Bomer and actor and director Jaime Camil of “Jane the Virgin” and “La Fea Más Bella” joined volunteers at Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to kick off the “#FoodForThought” campaign. The partnership is with the California Milk Processor Board (@got milk? and @tomaleche), the California Milk Advisory Board, representing California dairy farm families (@realcalifmilk) and Feeding America to help provide 1 million meals and 1 million servings of milk to feeding programs throughout California. 

The Food Bank is so grateful for generous gifts like this from our community, especially as we’ve seen food distribution increase by 114% from mid-March through mid-August and when our neighbors most vulnerable need us the most. It is thanks to donations and acts of kindness like this one that the Food Bank is able to distribute 77 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 64 million meals since the crisis started in March including 902,700 emergency food boxes distributed to a total of 2.7 million families and individuals through our partner agencies and direct distributions.

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This pandemic is causing unprecedented demand for food assistance, unlike anything the Food Bank has seen in our 47-year history. Before the pandemic, the Food Bank typically serves 300,000 clients monthly, and we’ve seen that number climb to 900,000. With unemployment, layoffs, furloughs, or a decrease in work hours, the Food Bank is now serving anywhere from 1,000 to 7,560 families per distribution. The Food Bank has had more than 120 distributions throughout LA County from Altadena and Athens Village to Wilmington and Whittier to name a few. 

Together, #WeFeedLA

The pandemic is impacting both families familiar and new to food insecurity as more and more families are dealing with the new economic hardship that all families are facing. Before the pandemic, schools in Los Angeles County provided millions of meals to food-insecure children. This food may also be a child’s main healthy meal as 1 in 4 children in LA County struggles with food insecurity and may not know where their next meal is coming from. With families coping with surging unemployment and remote learning in effect, the children of LA need us now more than ever.

Because of this partnership with Matt Bomer and Jaime Camil, the California Milk Processor Board, the California Milk Advisory Board, representing California dairy farm families (@realcalifmilk) and Feeding America, the Food Bank is able to reach an unprecedented amount of our neighbors in need. 

Through the support from our generous donors, supporters, volunteers, and remarkable agency partners, we are able to work even harder to fight hunger during this critical time. 

Learn how you can join the fight against hunger. >

(Photos by Rachel Murray Framingheddu for CMPB/Getty Images)