When the Greater Los Angeles Wildfires tore through Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, the world watched as hundreds of thousands of families and businesses lost it all in a matter of minutes. But what comes next doesn’t always make headlines, months and years of quiet, unglamorous work it takes for a community to rebuild.
On September 15, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank partnered with the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, Aspire Bakeries, All Hands & Hearts, and a coalition of nonprofit and corporate leaders to spotlight exactly that work, as well as to roll up their sleeves and help make a difference in the communities they live and work in.
The Community Rebuilding Project, a Hunger Action Month event held at the Food Bank’s City of Industry Distribution Center, brought together roughly 50 nonprofit, corporate, and community leaders for a full day that moved from boardroom-style conversation to hands-on volunteering.
Every box packed and sorted during that shift carries forward through the Food Bank’s distribution network: from the City of Industry warehouse to a wide network of partner agencies, and finally into the hands of neighbors across Los Angeles County who need it most, including families still rebuilding their lives after the fires.
Disaster recovery is rarely a straight line, and it’s almost never fast. The Food Bank extends its gratitude to the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, Aspire Bakeries, All Hands & Hearts, and every leader who traded their office space for a warehouse and production floor for Hunger Action Month.
If you would like to get involved in the fight against hunger, consider volunteering or donating to the Food Bank.