St. Agnes Parish provides food assistance to the Adams-Normandie and surrounding communities

Making ends meet in Los Angeles County has become more of a struggle for low to middle-income individuals and families. With everyday essentials rising, two or even three incomes aren’t cutting it in a single household. 

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and its partner agencies throughout LA County are serving an average of 870,000 individuals each month as of June 2023, a rise of 70,000 in comparison to 2022. 

In South Los Angeles, those seeking food assistance have the opportunity to attend the St. Agnes Parish food distribution, an agency that went from serving 20 families to 100 families in the span of two years.

Food Assistance for Basic Survival

For Rosa Rivera, making ends meet nowadays has become a struggle. As a single woman without young or adult children, living alone, her main focus is getting by alone. However, that in itself continues to be a struggle.

Rivera doesn’t have a stable job, and she doesn’t receive government assistance, therefore, she has to take on odd jobs here and there in order to pay her rent, bills, and purchase food, and clothing. 

“We have to figure things out to survive,” Rivera said. “Not to live well, but to survive.”

Luckily, Rivera turns to food pantries, like the one available at St. Agnes Parish, to help her pay her gas or phone bills which continue to rise.

St. Agnes Food Pantry Provides Significant Assistance

Alejandra Bautista visits the St. Agnes Parish food pantry distribution every Tuesday with her family. Even though she lives with six other individuals, her direct family consists of her and her young son. 

Even though Bautista splits the household costs with other people, the cost of living in Los Angeles is too high, pushing her to seek food assistance at St. Agnes, where she particularly likes the customer service, as well as the food options she receives, including broccoli, her son’s favorite. Although Bautista focuses on getting food for her and her son, she also keeps in mind the other individuals living under the same roof, getting food that they, too, need to survive.