Hunger Action Los Angeles

Food delivery: hunger action la created a weekly food delivery program in march 2020 as an emergency response to the covid pandemic to serve 100 to 200 homebound people who needed food. This program has continued since and in 2024 experienced growth. Hala received a grant from the kickstarter funding offered by los angeles county. The first tranche of $100,000 was received in november of 2023, and we began spending the funds in 2024. Nearly all of the work was performed by volunteers who packed the food and delivered to households. However, the kickstarter funding allowed the program to expand by 20% and to offer eggs through an innovative partnership with a farmer, nancy ramos. Funding for the food delivery program was spent on these things: - contractors daulette kimble, jose martinez, and sarah donis sorted food, bagged and delivered food;- all n one and doordash were two delivery services used to deliver meals- hala paid bills for chicken feed submitted by nancy ramos of bellacienda farms, who donated 60 dozen eggs per week beginning in may and continuing all through the year- bags and other supplies were purchased hala at the end of 2024 was serving 200 households regularly. Each week about 8 volunteers and about 10 doordash drivers take the food to the participants, while other participants pick up the food themselves. The participants were mostly referred to hala at the beginning of the pandemic, consisting first of the blind/low vision contingent of hunger action la program participants, and then expanding to referrals from a variety of sources including many who used google to locate hala resources. Other referrals come from kaiser permanente , unite us online platform, and other clinics, plus word of mouth. The participants consisted in a typical week of 40 large families requiring larger amounts of uncooked groceries; 100 households comprised of single individuals or couples, mostly seniors who received smaller allotments than the families; and about a dozen persons receiving prepared meals instead of groceries. In 2024 we operated the program for 48 weeks out of the year. About 66,270 pounds of food was donated (an estimate based on 141 bags or meal boxes per week x 10 lbs of food x 47 weeks.) the value of the food is around $226,550 based on average of about $1.97 per lb. Volunteers logged in about 2,256 hours.

Calfresh outreach (baila): hunger action la's calfresh team completed grant activities from a subcontract to the california association of food banks in january 2024 and began activities on another subcontract with them the following month. Hala also received funding from the county food equity grant, which was used to hire two staff to work in the antelope valley. The antelope valley had been specifically designated as a geographic area in which there needed to be more outreach to populations especially seniors, to enroll in calfresh. Berta suarez and natalia sparrow were hired. Activites included: - outreach to over 3,000 persons with assistance offered to help enroll in calfresh if interested- over 2,300 screenings of persons for eligibility - completed enrollments for 171 households- creation of flyers in multiple languages including targeted flyers for outreach to unhoused individuals, persons with felony backgrounds, seniors and people with disabilities, and persons in households of mixed immigration status- regular presence at farmers markets in adams/vermont, san pedro, and norwalk to inform and assist customers interested in applying for calfresh- information sharing with the baila coalition of over 25 organizations and cross-referral to agencies that assist with health care program enrollment- daily monitoring of the unite us web portal for referrals from other agencies.

Policy advocacy: state policy: hala was very involved in state policy in 2024 due to the governor's decision to exclude california nutrition incentives program funding in the state budget. In march, hunger action la sent one staff person and one associated farmer to sacramento to explain to legislators how nutrition incentives work and how they benefit both farmers and local communities. Later in the year the funding was restored. Hala played the role of co-chair in the california hunger action coalition and coordinated southern california activities for the coalition including hunger action day in sacramento in late april. Hala brought 20 advocates including low income residents and representatives of anti-poverty organizations to sacramento for that event. Hala also participated regularly in ca4ssi, a coalition dedicated to increasing benefits and well-being for senior and disabled californians who receive supplemental security income (ssi.) county policy: hala continued to participate monthly in the food equity roundtable, an invitation based coalition run out of the county of los angeles which shared ideas on ending hunger and promoting food security in los angeles county at large.

The flying squad is an affiliation of individuals who desire to carry out the following charitable activities: helps the homeless by talking to them as human beings and listening to them and then by trying to figure out, in real time, how to help them survive life in the street and ultimately get off the street, into apartments of their own choosing. The flying squad hands out cards that say let's talk - simple as that - and then follows up in person right away, on a same-day basis, when a respondent calls their number on google voice or emails us to begin the conversation.

Peoples guide to welfare, health and other services: hala publishes the peoples guide which has become the standard guidebook of public social services for people in need of assistance. The books were distributed largely through legal aid foundation of los angeles and neighborhood legal services of los angeles. They are usually provided free in varying quantities, including 2 free copies each for any low income person on request.

Other projects: proyecto jardin has created an urban garden and provides education on organic agriculture, sustainable food systems, recycling to reduce the use of materials that end up in the waste stream, and food recovery and composting. Activities include education in urban agro-ecology, reclaiming ancestral foodways, and community engagement and leadership development.