Communities Strengthening Food Access and Equity

Food insecurity and access to basic needs

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

According to a 2023 brief by USC’s Dornsife, food insecurity affects 30% of LA County households and the problem is escalating rapidly. In 2023, food insecurity rates grew 6% in just one year. Over 1 million households are food insecure due to high food prices and the end of the emergency boost to the CalFresh program, leaving many Angelenos struggling to put food on the table. Food insecurity disproportionately affects people of color. Rates of food insecurity were 3 times higher among LA’s Hispanic and Black residents compared to white residents. Those most affected were low-income (<300% FPL), female, and 18-30 years old. More than 40% of households reporting food insecurity have children at home. Feeding America reports that food insecurity is connected to poverty, poor diet quality, and chronic disease. Those affected have little access to nutritious food which increases the risk of health issues like diabetes and hypertension and threatens the well-being of our communities.

By deploying a volunteer workforce of over 13,000 Angelenos to prepare fresh, nutritious meals for their neighbors experiencing food insecurity, Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles (OBKLA) is a catalyst for community well-being. Building on an early foundation of success, we will strengthen our food distribution pipeline and scale services, connecting meals to more at-need individuals and families in Los Angeles. The innovation behind OBKLA’s effectiveness is our efficient, scalable, and replicable community-driven service model that is characterized by: -A diverse volunteer workforce that prepares and packages the food during daily meal prep sessions, including a dedicated group of seasoned volunteers who assist with and expedite meal prep sessions and support peer engagement and retention -Tasty, chef-curated meals that are hand-packed in individual containers to provide a measure of care and dignity that everyone deserves -Volunteer instruction in food preparation techniques and kitchen safety -An approach to service delivery that assesses and responds to the individual cultural, health, and dietary needs of participants in real-time -A portfolio of community-based partner organizations who pick up or receive food for “just in time” distribution to their clients -Discussion of topics in food justice such as equitable access, affordability, and zero-waste

Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles seeks to ensure universal access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food for all. Moving into our new 4,600 square foot industrial kitchen in February 2022 launched a period of early, fast paced growth. As we work to realize our vision, OBKLA is focused on strengthening and scaling meal distribution services over time to meet the rising demand. OBKLA partners with over 35 direct service agencies who pick up meals for their clients. We recently purchased a custom delivery van which created new opportunities to offer meal delivery to organizations that serve large groups of 400+ participants and to communities of need that are far from our kitchen to ensure food safety. We will increase our efficiency and reach by connecting meals to more individuals in a single distribution. We will also support equity by delivering meals to Food Deserts where residents may not have access to fresh, nutritious food.

Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles is in a period of remarkable growth with a budget that grew 55% in 2023, allowing us to increase our service capacity by 250%. This year, we are are projected to engage 15,000 community volunteers in 30,000 volunteer hours during 300 cooking sessions that generate over 100,000 meals with homemade cookies for delivery. Through email, social media, and direct outreach, we communicate regularly with stakeholders including partner agencies and participants, volunteers, staff, donors, and lay leaders. We collect anecdotal reports and video testimonials from partner agencies and volunteer participants to evaluate our impact, and we make adjustments as needed. As a young organization, we are just beginning to develop measures for both short-and-long-term outcomes including how our services effectively meet the needs of the population served and the impact of services on the health and well-being of participants.