As the year concludes, gatherings and festivities centered around food pick up. For the more than one million households in Los Angeles County, it can also bring about extra financial pressure and another stark reminder of food insecurity challenges. Fortunately, community-based nonprofits and organizations work with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to help ensure that all walks of life have access to the nutritious food that everyone deserves – all year round. 

One of those partner agencies includes the Pomona-based organization Sowing Seeds for Life, which prioritizes providing food and nutrition assistance to its local communities. The nonprofit was established in 2005 and serves food-insecure individuals from more than sixteen cities across eastern LA and western San Bernardino Counties. 

Recognizing the increased financial burden on low- and middle-income families during the holiday season, Sowing Seeds for Life does a festive drive-through distribution to help ensure that families and individuals can stock up on food essentials for the season and even toys handed by Santa for the kids and their families. 

At 2:15 in the morning, ahead of the drive-through distribution, the first car began lining up to wait for the distribution to go underway. Within hours, the queue of cars loaded with individuals and families eagerly await the start of the grocery giveaway so that they can fill their pantries and perhaps get more slack within their limited budgets. 

One of those individuals waiting in line included Ana, a single mother who identifies as the head of a low-income household, picking up food for her son with a special diet, elderly parents and herself. 

“Coming here completes my refrigerator and food for my children, food for my family, food even for my elderly parents,” she says. “It’s a great and complete help.”

Without resources like this distribution, she says she doesn’t know what she would do to access food for herself and her family and even, unfortunately, run out of food. Ana extends her appreciation and gratitude to everyone involved who helps food distributions like this one happen and helps provide sustenance to her and her family through food boxes so that they don’t have to feel alone while facing food and nutrition insecurity. 

If you can do so, please consider donating to keep food pantry programs similar to Sowing Seeds for Life, which Ana and her family benefit from.