Food on Food Justice: People's Pantry LA

The motto of People’s Pantry LA is:
Free Food! Comida Gratis!
All are welcome - housed and unhoused.

Everyone deserves access to nutritious, healthy food. For the month of December 10% of proceeds from sales will be donated to People’s Pantry LA!

After volunteering with Hunger Action Los Angeles (HALA), an organization working to end hunger and promote healthy eating through advocacy, direct service, and organizing, Penelope, a visual art teacher, decided to start a food distribution program to provide food for those in need in the community she grew up in - El Sereno. El Sereno is a geographically diverse neighborhood on the margins of the city with a growing homeless population that Penelope wanted to serve.

Since starting this year in July, during the heart of the pandemic, People's Pantry LA, a 100% volunteer-run grassroots organization, has distributed over 1500 bags of groceries to people in need - both housed and unhoused - as well as over 500 meals and hygiene products to unhoused neighbors. Penelope says that the food items that are most sought after are canned food and non-perishable items like rice, beans, and pasta. Partnering with other local organizations such as Food Forward,  Food Cycle, God's Pantry, and Polo's Pantry as well as local businesses like Homeboy Industries, Yang’s Kitchen & Market, California Island Market, and Cookbook Market just to name a few, the items being donated range from fresh produce, prepackaged perishables, bread, cans and dry goods, and fresh fruit. Hygiene products such as toilet paper, diapers, and menstrual products are distributed in partnership with Hygiene Help LA and Freshy LA. 

Food distribution takes place every other week in different parts of El Sereno, servicing the El Sereno area as well as NELA (Northeast Los Angeles). 

To connect with People's Pantry LA to volunteer or make a donation, check out their Instagram page @peoplespantryla