Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new generation of Americans from all walks of life is suffering, experiencing food insecurity for the first time. With unemployment numbers shattering all records, this could be your neighbor, your best friend, a dear relative, or even yourself visiting food pantries only to find many of them bare.
Nonprofit organizations that usually focus on housing and community efforts now find themselves on the front lines, scrambling to cover the cost of meals on top of the services they already provide. Most of these organizations do not have the funding to sustain services without immediate intervention.
That’s why we’re partnering with groups like LA Family Housing (LAFH), to make sure those in need never miss a meal. LAFH recently told us:
“Food insecurity is a huge issue facing our participants right now. LA Family Housing houses approximately 500 families on any given night in our interim or bridge housing, which currently consists of motels and large single family homes.
“Before COVID-19, these kids were getting 2-3 hot meals a day at school, and with a combination of WIC, food stamps and donated food and gift cards, the families were able to secure what they needed. Now that schools are shut down and stores are running low on affordable supplies, these families are in crisis.
“Our immediate priority is to make sure that these families – who are already at risk – have some prepared food coming their way. We’ve created a plan that includes purchasing low-cost meals from food vendors and potentially restaurants and utilizing our operations teams and case managers to deploy these meals to our various motels and sites. We’re seeking private philanthropic support to help cover the costs of these meals, as well as costs associated with our drivers, and other staff coordinating and deploying the meals.
“We’re looking at providing one hot meal per day, for 1,300 people, 7 days/week for the next 4 weeks and potentially longer if the crisis continues.” – LA Family Housing