On Monday, March 23, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Labor Community Services and other organizations, hosted a food distribution for those impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. While LAUSD classified employees were the focus population for this food distribution, other community members were served as well.

The Coronavirus Causes the Need to Surge

In a typical month, LA Regional Food Bank provides food to 300,000 children, seniors, families and individuals through a network of partner agencies and through direct distribution programs. The Food Bank is already experiencing increased demand for food assistance with distribution surging 20% since the Coronavirus outbreak. The increased demand is expected to continue.

While the Food Bank has a healthy inventory of food on-hand right now (roughly 11 million pounds of food), there are particular commodity items that are running low, and at this time, the Food Bank is planning to begin to supplement the donated food with purchased items.

This, plus the Food Bank’s action to supplement the volunteer workforce with paid temporary employees, is resulting in unplanned expenses, and the need for financial donations.

Distributing Food in the Community

The regular work of the Food Bank is continuing. In normal times, the Food Bank processes more than 1 million pounds of food per week through two warehouses in Los Angeles County. Because these locations are warehouse facilities, they are not set up for distributions, and meals are not provided on-site. Instead, those in need of food are encouraged to dial 211 or visit LAFoodbank.org/findfood to locate one of the Food Bank’s nearby partner agencies.

The Food Bank works with 600 partner agencies across LA County, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. “It is in times of crises that we see the best in people and today showed us just that. Union workers and community members selflessly came out to ensure that our most vulnerable communities could put food on the table. The partnership between the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and the Los Angeles Labor Movement is making a difference in people’s lives.” – Ron Herrera, President, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

The recent food distribution at Hoover Elementary school is just one of the dozens of food distributions taking place each day, and this event alone provided food to more than 900 families in critical need during this crisis. Thanks to the generous donors, volunteers and supporters of the Food Bank, families throughout LA County are going to be able to eat nutritious meals, rather than facing empty plates during this challenging time.