Food Distribution
We understand that different neighborhoods and populations have different nourishment needs. By entrusting our community partners to define the needs of their own neighborhoods, we are providing more autonomy over food choice and creating trusted food access points that are informed by community knowledge and experience. With their guidance, we help to create sustainable infrastructure to support their own food distributions.
Our work moves beyond food distributions as we connect community groups to resources that enable them to build the food and care systems that they envision for themselves. Our holistic lens for food distribution work grants us opportunities to empower people long-term. We support national advocacy for farmworkers rights, leadership development and empowerment for LA youth, and workforce development and spiritual healing for Skid Row.
How It Works
A group wants to start a food distribution for their community. They recognize a need for healthy and accessible food.
They connect with us. We ask them what they envision for their distributions— how manny people, what kind of food, what type of structure?
We secure their requested resources through our food recovery partners & farmers and assist them in building out a distribution attuned to the needs of their people.
Food Sourcing: Recovered & Purchased
Food recovery involves capturing perfectly edible food that would otherwise be thrown away and then redistributing it. We work with various food recovery organizations such as God’s Pantry and Hollywood Food Coalition to secure this food.
In our current food system, close to 1/3rd of edible food is wasted. Sustainability is built into this model as long as excess food exists.
We see food purchasing as a way to financially support local farms, food businesses, and street vendors. This model creates more equitable pathways to securing healthy food by building strong relationships with the people who grow our food and by stimulating our local food economy.
By offering farmers a fair price for their produce, we are helping to ensure that more resilient, smaller-scale farms can continue to provide nutritious food while practicing sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
These positive, reciprocal and authentic relationships with food recovery partners and food producers ensure sustainability in our model of food distribution.
