Mobile Feeding Program for Los Angeles's Homeless

Housing and Homelessness

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

It is alarming to learn that Los Angeles County has the highest number of homeless people in the country. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there were over 69,000 homeless people in the county in 2022. 2022 statistics indicate that more than 48 percent of the homeless population are Hispanic, and a troubling 33% are Black, despite Black people only representing 8 percent of the County's population. Feed My Poor's (FMP) Food Truck visits various locations in Skid Row and MacArthur Park and delivers meals to neighborhoods in Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Koreatown, Venice Beach, and Mid-Wilshire, as well as Culver City and Santa Monica. We mainly assist people who are chronically homeless, suffering from health issues and require a nutritious meal to sustain them until the next day.

FMP's primary operation is the Mobile Food Truck Program. FMP leases a Food Truck used as a mobile kitchen to cook and distribute hot meals to several neighborhoods in Los Angeles where the need is greatest. The Truck rotates between several locations in Skid Row (San Julian Park, Gladys Park, San Pedro St. & E. 5th St, Towne Avenue & E. 5th St.) and MacArthur Park. This program focuses on distributing at least 300 freshly cooked meals prepared on-site. Each recipe the Chef creates and prepares is designed to provide a diner with enough proper nutritional value to get them to their next meal. The truck operates seven days a week. FMP will lease a second Food Truck next year. This will allow us to 1) double the number of hot meals we serve daily to approximately 600, 2) allow us to expand our reach to additional communities of LA County and City that have a high population of individuals who are food insecure, and 3) allow our Chef to expand our daily rotating menu of nutritious options we feed to the those that are hungry. The "To-Go" Meal Delivery Program supplements the Truck by distributing meals to individuals in additional areas of LA. Currently, 400 meals are pre-made by FMP and Church of the Good Shepherd volunteers and delivered six days a week by two drivers. Deliveries are made to several neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles (Hollywood, Koreatown, Venice Beach, Mid-Wilshire) and other cities within Los Angeles County (Culver City and Santa Monica).

FMP's "mobile" operational model is designed to allow operations to adapt as needs throughout LA County evolve yearly. We can also physically meet our target population where they reside and, therefore, where the need is greatest. The individuals that FMP feeds do not have to travel to lengths and navigate transportation systems that are not always accessible to get a meal since we go to them. This model creates sustainability for the future as we can easily adapt its daily route to serve different geographic areas as needs in the community evolve. By October 2024, we plan to lease and operate a second food truck. Due to FMP's current operations, we already have an ongoing partnership with a company that leases us our current Food Truck and has several other available rentals. It is our long-term goal to increase the number of trucks we lease and operate annually and scale the program into a food truck "fleet" that can reach and feed every hungry individual in Los Angeles.

FMP will use the following goals to measure success in the 2023 fiscal year: -Cook and provide at least 300 hot meals daily via the mobile Food Truck. This will amount to approximately 109,500 meals served this year. If FMP receives funding to lease a second Food Truck, we will double the number of hot meals we serve daily to approximately 600 meals daily. Staff will monitor the number of to-go meals made daily, and FMP leadership will track this data. Since the launch of the Food Truck in February 2021, FMP has served about 300,000 hot meals. -Distribute 400 pre-made to-go meals by 60 volunteers six days a week. This will amount to approximately 125,200 to-go meals distributed this year. Volunteers will monitor the number of to-go meals made daily, and FMP leadership will track this data