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Hunger Is Now Another Side Effect Of The Pandemic
Cars lined up for hours at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to receive boxes of food from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
With so many people out of work, many Angelenos don’t know when they will get their next meal. Food banks, along with community organizations, have been seeing a growing number of families coming to get groceries.
Even before the pandemic, about two million residents in Los Angeles County faced food insecurity, which means they have no access to affordable, nutritious food.
Labor Community Services, a non-profit, has teamed up with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to provide groceries to help out-of-work union members from the hotel and entertainment industries, and many other sectors.
“The lines are extremely long. It just shows you the need that people have,” according to Armando Olivas, a board director with Labor Community Services.
The food distribution stations usually happen three times a week in different parts of the county and the lines can stretch up to four miles.
“This is a disaster of major proportions,” Olivas said.
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