What started as curiosity has grown into a five-year volunteer journey at the Food Bank. 

Every week, in the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s busy warehouse humming with forklifts, conveyor belts, and volunteers, you’ll find Art Salter suited up and ready to work. He’s not there because he has to be. He’s there to give back.

Salter’s relationship with hunger relief didn’t start at the Food Bank. It started 18 years earlier, at a partner organization called MEND, where he had been volunteering long before. But curiosity got the better of him.

“I always wanted to see where the food came from,” Art explains. 

What started off as volunteering once a week turned into two days a week, on top of other volunteering endeavors. 

“It’s surprising to me that we can produce so much within a three-hour period,” Salter says of a typical volunteer shift. In that window, volunteers can pack anywhere from 800 to 2,000 boxes of food, a scale of production that Salter still finds remarkable, even after years of watching it happen.

Seeing Both Sides of the Need

What makes Salter’s perspective unique is that he sees hunger from two vantage points. At MEND, he watches people line up as early as 6:30 in the morning for a food distribution that doesn’t open until nine. At the Food Bank, he sees where that food comes from before it ever reaches those lines.

“It’s very sad that I see people line up,” he says, “but the people are very appreciative. And it’s nice for me to see both sides of what we do.”

That dual perspective has only sharpened his sense of urgency about food insecurity in the County. “A lot of people cannot afford to buy food,” Salter says. “The price of fruit, vegetables, and things that are really healthy are very expensive. We’re seeing that people are going hungry. That motivates me to go and get back to the community.”

Together, We Feed LA

Salter’s generosity isn’t limited to his time on the warehouse floor. As a business owner who has built a successful career, he’s long been moved by the people he’s seen struggling. He wanted to help, and that’s what led him to look for an organization he trusted, one where he knew the support he provided would reach the people who genuinely needed it. Additionally, Salter also represents the Max Factor Family Foundation, advocating for grant funding to organizations across the community, including the Food Bank. 

Every bit of support helps the Food Bank reach the more than one million neighbors who seek food assistance each month. Volunteer or donate today and see the impact for yourself.