Nourishing the impoverished, home-bound elderly in the Harbor Area

Income inequality

South Bay

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

Income Inequality. There are many, elderly people in San Pedro and the harbor area, living at or below the poverty line. Sadly, some of them are also home-bound due to health issues, unable to shop or cook, and don’t have family or close friends in the neighborhood to provide assistance. These are the people we take care of. Sadly, with rising food prices this issue is only going to get worse. We do as much as we can, and the majority of our current clients pay a nominal charge for our food. However, we know there are people who cannot afford even our heavily subsidized prices. Right now, we can take on up to 30 additional non-paying clients without increasing our overhead costs, so by covering the food and packaging costs, this grant would enable 30 of the most impoverished elderly to receive nutritious food for one year.We know that there are far more than 30 elderly individuals in need in the harbor area, and it is our intention to continue fund-raising to expand this program.

Nutritious Food & Connection for elderly, impoverished home-bound individuals. Every weekday our Chef and her team of volunteers prepare one hot and one cold meal for each of our clients. These are packaged up, and delivered by a team of volunteers.
Where we differ from other MoW, is in having our own Chef, most MoW rely on bulk meal packaging services to deliver a week’s worth of food. In contrast, all our food is prepared every day, using fresh seasonal ingredients. A daily delivery means that our clients get so much more than fresh nutritious food, they get connection. Our drivers stick to the same routes, so they are able to form a relationship with our clients and help with small tasks, taking the trash out, collecting the mail etc., & putting them in touch with other agencies if needed. For many clients, our volunteers are the only person they see each day. One lady even told us that the only reason she puts makeup on, is because she will get to see & talk to her volunteer. On more than one occasion, our delivery person has had to call 911 when a client has had a fall or became seriously ill.
We are a lean organization; we pay for a Chef and a part-time office manager. Everyone else is a volunteer. We do buy food, but we also get donations from farmers markets, local stores and bakeries. We can take on an additional 30 non-paying clients for the cost of the food & packaging only, making this the most efficient way of providing nutrition & connection to those in need.

Fewer hungry, isolated, elderly people in Los Angeles. Our short and long-term visions are the same. Reach out and help our impoverished, elderly, sick and/or disabled, home-bound neighbors who have to choose between food, medications & rent. That is a choice no one should have to make. We hope that by continuing to provide free meals to these people we will be doing our part to reduce hunger, & provide connection, letting the elderly know they are still valued. For this program, we will be working with other neighborhood organizations to help identify those in most immediate need.
We will continue our normal fund-raising efforts, including soliciting for other grants with the aim of continuing and expanding this initiative beyond the first year. It is our fervent hope that as a result of our work, there will be a few less isolated, elderly, sick and homeless people in Los Angeles. With rising prices & an uncertain economic future, there is an urgent need to restart this program now.