L.A. Care CEO Honored for Commitment to Medically-Tailored Meals

john baackes at project angel food awardsProject Angel Food is a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers 1.5 million free, medically- tailored meals each year to people with life-threatening illnesses who are unable to shop and cook for themselves. Since its founding during the AIDS crisis in 1989 by Marianne Williamson, Project Angel  Food has delivered more than 18 million meals.

The 2024 Project Angel Food Angel Awards were held on Saturday, September 28 at Milk Studios in Hollywood. L.A. Care CEO John Baackes was honored with the Sheryl Lee Ralph Legacy Award in recognition of his dedication to the organization and its cause. 

During his speech, Baackes highlighted the importance of social justice, the value of looking after our fellow human beings, and his gratitude for organizations like Project Angel Food for protecting our most vulnerable community members.

Here is our Q&A with John Baackes about his passion for solving food insecurity, his history with Project Angel Food, and the aligned values with L.A. Care Health Plan.

salute to John Baackes projected on screenWhen did you get involved with Project Angel Food (PAF), and what called you to this organization?

John: Richard Ayoub visited me in my first year at L.A. Care. I had been a volunteer at MANNA when I lived in Philadelphia, so I was familiar with the kind of work PAF was doing. He asked me if I would consider a Board seat. I told him I was new to Los Angeles and had a lot of work to do within L.A. Care before I would consider community boards. I told him I would call him when I was ready. A year later, I called and asked if the Board opportunity was still a possibility. I am sure he thought I had blown him off after his first visit.

What do you hope your legacy with Project Angel Food will be?

John: I hope it will be my help in guiding PAF to a modified business model that includes earned income to diversify the reliance on philanthropy. Even before medically-tailored meals (MTM) became a community support within Medi-Cal, we had looked into PAF meals being reimbursable under CalFresh. MTM is an ideal way to diversify income as well as underscore that food is medicine.

john baackes at project angel food awardsHow does L.A. Care’s work and Project Angel Food’s mission align – and how can we here at L.A. Care work toward ending food insecurity?

John: The two organizations are in sync with their missions. L.A. Care is here to serve vulnerable populations to improve their health status and to support the safety net of providers who care for them. Project Angel Food is one of those providers - delivering medically-tailored meals to vulnerable populations. The vast majority of PAF clients are enrolled in Medi-Cal and have L.A. Care or one of the other Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans for their health plan coverage.