ABOUT HOLLYWOOD FOOD COALITION

Hollywood Food Coalition's mission is to nourish the community by rescuing and distributing food, preparing nightly meals, and uniting efforts to achieve food equity.

Since 1987 we have provided hunger relief to unhoused and low-income neighbors through hot, healthy meals served every single night of the year, without fail. Since then, we have grown into a thriving meal service and food rescue operation providing meals and other basic necessities to food-insecure Angelenos.

When we share food we not only help with basic needs, but we also remind our guests of their fundamental humanity. We remind them that they are not forgotten, that somebody cares, and that they are still worthwhile members of the human family.

At our core, we actively seek to construct a more cohesive, just, and compassionate community. We serve any hungry person who walks through our door, with no exclusionary intake or prohibitive requirements that would turn them away.

Our Community Dinner has served hot, healthy meals every night of the year, since 1987, without ever missing a night. We emphasize choice, providing meat, vegetarian, and vegan options, serving over 91,000 meals in 2023, a 7% increase since 2022, and a 40% increase since 2020. We have no barriers to access, so we serve more community members each day than any other social service agency in the area, including neighbors typically marginalized by the food and social services system. As a result, we are often community members’ first experience with the social safety net as they begin experiencing homelessness.

Our consistency builds trust with our guests, allowing us to meet other health needs through our Community Wellness program. In 2023, we distributed over 19,000 basic-need items, including blankets, tents, socks, hygiene kits, sleeping bags, clothing, and more. We also collaborate with other nonprofits to connect dinner guests with on-site medical, mental health, and vision care, housing navigation, substance-use counseling, ID document recovery, and hygiene/clothing services.

Our Community Exchange, born in May 2020, is a concierge food service that provides small to medium-sized nonprofits with the food they need when they need it, so they can focus on their missions. We’re revamping the current food bank model to help nonprofits build meal programs. We take great care in learning about each organization’s programs and the communities they serve and then set up a personalized plan. Since 2020, we’ve rescued more than 7 million pounds of food, averaging over 49,000 lbs per week, served more than 160 non-profit partners, and have more than 400 business donors, from restaurants and local businesses to corporations and wholesalers. In 2023, we rescued 2.58 million pounds of food, equivalent to 2.15 million meals.

For many years, while serving on the streets and renting several kitchens along the way, we have dreamed of a space we can call our own: a beautifully designed space, with a multi-course, seated dining experience that would serve as our headquarters and would improve our ability to meet the nutritional, health, and housing needs of our community. Coming out of the pandemic, we are actively working toward finding and securing our dream home for the Community Dinner program, and a larger and improved space for our Community Exchange program.

Tamika and Maurice Watkins Present: An Evening with Marc Broussard to Benefit Hollywood Food Coalition

By HOLLYWOOD FOOD COALITION

Tamika and Maurice Watkins Present: An Evening with Marc Broussard to Benefit Hollywood Food Coalition