The Food Bank Story

Pasadena resident, Tony Collier, founded Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 1973 at the Grandview Foundation.

Collier, a cook with a charitable organization, received more food donations from local businesses than he anticipated and shared them with other organizations feeding the hungry. Four members of the community impressed with Collier's work formed a voluntary Board of Directors to create the Food Bank.

From its beginning in a two-car garage, the Food Bank moved into a converted 2,600 square foot dry cleaning facility on Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena. In 1983,  it moved to a 10,000 square foot warehouse in El Monte.

To reflect its service to all areas of Los Angeles County, the organization changed its name to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 1986. In 1989, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank moved to its present location: a 96,000 square foot facility specifically designed as a food bank

Food is donated to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank from local and national food manufacturers, wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurant suppliers, packers, processors and brokers. Once a shipment of food is received at our warehouse, it is sorted, inspected, and if necessary, repacked for distribution to participating charities in Los Angeles County.

We sort, inspect, repackage and distribute thousands of pounds of food each day with the help of dedicated volunteers.  Last year, over 31,000 volunteers donated their time to the Food Bank.

Charities order and pick up the products they need from the Food Bank on a weekly basis. They then serve the food to needy families, children and individuals free of charge. Through these charities, over 1 million people receive healthy meals each year.

The mission of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our community.

To fulfill our mission we:

Source and acquire food and other products and distribute to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs;

Energize the community to get involved and support hunger relief;

Conduct hunger education and awareness campaigns and advocate for public policies that alleviate hunger.

Our vision is that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County.

 

 

 

 

 

Project Angel Food's mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children
affected by HIV/AIDS, Cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers and staff cook
and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love throughout Los Angeles County, acting out
of a sense of urgency because hunger and illness do not wait. We deliver more than 13,000
meals every week to people in need.

In 1989, Marianne Williamson and a group of her friends began the free meal delivery program that we now call the Project Angel Food Program. It started as a grass roots organization with a simple goal; prepare and deliver nutritious and tasty meals to people who were too sick to shop or cook for themselves. Around the same time, HIV/AIDS was recognized as a serious epidemic and many people who were diagnosed in Los Angeles came to the Project Angel Food Program for help. In 2004, Project Angel Food renewed it's commitment to those living with HIV/AIDS and increased its scope of service to again include anyone who has a serious, life-threatening illness and needs our help.

Our goal is to work with those in need to develop a nutritious and appealing diet specifically designed for them. We use high-quality ingredients to prepare those meals in our kitchen. Then they are delivered either directly to the client's home or to a pick-up point that is close to where they live. Clients have an option of receiving either hot meals prepared daily or frozen meals that are delivered once a week.

Nurturing the spirit of our clients is another important part of our program. We believe that feeding someone a healthy meal is not enough, that human contact and quality of life are key components to improving someone's condition. That's why each client receives a gift bag on their birthday and during special holidays with things like books, CD's, snacks, and personal care items. Our clients often let us know how much it means to them to be remembered on their birthday or how much they look forward to talking with the person delivering their meal.