April 10, 2020 was a historic day at The Forum in Inglewood as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank provided emergency food boxes to 7,561 families impacted by the rapid downturn in the local economy. In all, an estimated 22,000 people will benefit from the food distributed which includes fresh oranges, frozen chicken and a 30 meal food kit of a variety of shelf stable food items.
The “Drive Through” distribution, coordinated with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Unite Here Local 11, was held in the parking lot of The Forum and had four separate lanes so families could receive the food assistance without leaving their cars, an important consideration in order to mitigate the continued spread of COVID-19.
Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, commented, “I want to thank the LA Federation of Labor, The Forum, the City of Inglewood and other partners that made today’s distribution possible. The number of families served was a record amount for this type of distribution, and it demonstrates the significant spike in demand for food that we have been responding to.”
The LA Regional Food Bank has been holding “Drive Through” distributions since the outbreak of COVID-19 locally as an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure on the Food Bank’s partner agencies. More volunteers are needed for future distributions, see LAFoodBank.org/volunteer for more information.