LA Councilman Herb Wesson Partnering With Food Bank For Grocery Delivery Program
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- A food bank is delivering groceries through a refrigerated, repurposed truck to Los Angeles residents in Council District 10 who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
World Harvest Food Bank and Councilman Herb Wesson announced on Friday they have launched a food delivery campaign to bring up to 36,000 pounds of fresh, organic food to families who can't get to in-person food banks.
"Our promise is to help everyone we can,'' said food bank founder Glen Curado. "No child should go to bed hungry when there is enough food for us all. We know that our families have lost their incomes nearly entirely, that they have relatives sick with COVID-19 and that they have already lost loved ones to the pandemic.''
Delivery services will primarily serve residents who live in Council District 10 but services could also expand to nearby areas.
The goal is to get the food near close to door-to-door service or within a block of each residential area where food assistance is needed.
Priego said the food bank has already seen a 380% increase in visits this year, but for people facing food insecurity along with struggles associated with coronavirus or immigration concerns, many locals have been afraid to leave their homes to go to food banks.
Wesson's office has been sponsoring grocery boxes for families since the start of the pandemic, totaling about 800,000 pounds of food, according to spokesperson Michael Tonetti, but the delivery truck is a new program.
The World Harvest Food Bank is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit www.worldharvestla.org.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
