The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed an estimated 1.3 million jobs in Los Angeles County, so far. USC researchers say 43 percent of residents are working now, compared to 61 percent in mid-March. Food insecurity has jumped because of the devastating jobs losses. L.A. Care Health Plan does not want anyone to go hungry. It is working in a number of ways to make sure its members and others in the community are getting the nutritious foods needed to stay healthy.
The L.A. Care Family Resource Center in Palmdale will once again collaborate with Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), and for the first time, join the Lancaster YMCA in hosting a Drive-Thru Food Pantry, providing groceries to about 650 families in the Antelope Valley.
This Drive-Thru Food Pantry is:
Friday, June 19
9 am to 11 am
Lancaster YMCA
43001 10th St W, Lancaster
L.A. Care, AVPH and YMCA staff will practice all the proper social distancing and safety precautions while distributing bags of groceries. Patrons are asked to stay in their cars, and the staff, wearing masks and gloves, will place bags in the opened trunk of vehicles or pass the bags through the window.
This is part of a continuing food pantry effort for L.A. Care. In April, the health plan held a drive-through food pantry at its Family Resource Center in Palmdale, it is supporting Sowing Seeds for Life in its ongoing food pantries at the Fairplex in Pomona, and it has joined the ongoing effort by LAC+USC in Boyle Heights. In addition to the food pantries, L.A. Care has provided grants to organizations to feed 750 individuals who are either homebound or suffering from chronic illnesses that require proper nutrition to maintain good health outcomes.
It is going to take many people and organizations working together to help the most vulnerable get through this difficult time. We can do it, together.