Food & Climate
Many campaigns have been launched to distribute meals to victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, by restaurants, individuals and companies, and calls have also spread for donations to provide food.
While World Central Kitchen is distributing free hot meals to the public at many locations in Southern California in response to multiple active wildfires near Los Angeles, and published its sites addresses on its website, many local restaurants are coming together right now to help those facing hardships caused by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, according to many reports seen by “Food & Climate” platform.
Los Angeles wildfires Community Meal Campaign
Los Angeles wildfires Community Meal Campaign is a collective of local restaurants that are accepting meal donations to provide food for those affected by the wildfires. Starting at $10, community meals can be purchased at the participating restaurants, which will then be donated to first responders, evacuees, or disaster relief organizations.
Restaurants Care is helping food and beverage workers impacted by the fires with grants to cover basic living expenses. The company invited to Apply for help or donate to support someone in need.
World Central Kitchen is providing free meals for first responders and affected community members at various locations throughout LA.
Regarding Her is collecting donations that will go directly to LA’s women-owned small businesses–including restaurants, bars, cafes, and more–as they work to rebuild and recover.
Project Angel Food is preparing and delivering meals for those affected by the wildfires. They’re looking for volunteers in the upcoming weeks and are collecting donations for their fire relief fund, according to “the infatuation”.
Food donations are also pouring in to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, to the point donors are being asked to hold off a bit so it can all be distributed.
Antihunger advocates
Antihunger advocates cautioned there are still hidden needs, because many people who did not directly lose their homes are still struggling.
Frank Tamborello, director of Hunger Action Los Angeles, said thousands have lost their jobs and may now have trouble feeding their families.
“You have a lot of people who didn’t lose their homes but are housekeepers, maintenance workers and others who have lost a lot of clients,” Tamborello pointed out. “They live all over the county, so their food situation has been impacted as they’ve lost income.”
Tamborello predicted some families will need ongoing assistance for months, long after as the initial outpouring of aid dries up. In addition, some communities like Altadena and Pacific Palisades have lost their main grocery stores. Altadena lost three, as Aldi, Grocery Outlet and Super King all burned to the ground, so people there have to travel farther to get groceries. It can be challenging for those with disabilities or who may have lost their car or other transportation in the fires.
Alba Velasquez, executive director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, said the fire also has taken a toll on local agriculture.
“Many farmers in the impacted regions are dealing with destroyed crops, damaged infrastructure and loss of revenue,” Velasquez noted. “Additionally, air quality issues caused by the fires can have a lasting impact on crops and livestock health.”
Advocates said they will work to address the issues with policymakers as agencies begin distributing disaster aid, according to “Kiowa country press”.
100 pizzas a day
On Monday morning, Chris Wallace of Ozzy’s Apizza in North Hollywood was up early, making pizzas. His plan was to deliver as much food as he could to first responders, local fire departments, shelters and hotels housing the displaced from the Los Angeles fires. “We’ve been doing about 100 pizzas a day,” he says of the restaurant’s donation efforts, which started last Wednesday.
On any other day, 100 pizzas before dinner service would be a record sales day for the pop-up-turned-restaurant. But Wallace, of course, was giving the food away for free.
But in the wake of all of those good works is a simple economic truth: California’s fires are yet another challenge to an industry that has felt gut punch after gut punch in recent years.
There are the restaurants that have been damaged or flat-out destroyed by the fires, from established spots along the Pacific Coast Highway to beloved neighborhood joints in Altadena such as Side Pie and Fox’s diner — leaving plenty of employees without jobs. Others have been forced to close due to evacuations or a lack of power to their buildings, according to “SFGATE“.