5 Ways to Help Feed People This Holiday Season

There are so many worthy ways to give back this time of year. You can attend a fundraising event, donate food or write a check to help the less fortunate. All of which are needed and appreciated by the charities that depend on your generosity. But in case you need some inspiration, we came up with a few other ways that you can contribute. Because although the regional food pantries are always grateful for donations and help with distributing food, there are plenty of other ways to help. Turn the page for 5 Ways to Help Feed People This Holiday Season, in no particular order.

5. Give a working mother the night off: The Alexandria House is a Koreatown adjacent transitional shelter for women and their children “moving from emergency shelter to permanent housing.” As part of their commitment, residents are asked to make dinner for everyone else, once a month. You can call ahead and offer up your time and skills to give someone a night off to spend a little more time with their families by helping make the meal instead. The best part? The kids who come in and ask to help and then hug you for saying yes.

Chicken Soup; Credit: J. Ritz

4. Deliver food to the housebound: We recently told you about Project Chicken Soup, an organization that makes and delivers food to people living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. If you are on the Westside, call ahead and find out how you can help.

Credit: Food Forward

3. Pick some fruit: Food Forward has been committed to Fruitanthropy since their inception in 1999. That is the picking, donating or distributing of fruit for humanitarian purposes. You and a group — or your own group — will be organized to glean citrus or other fruit from local trees, which is then brought to food pantries. 100% of what is picked goes to feed the hungry.

Credit: Tomas O'Grady

2. Build a school garden: Enrich LA organizes groups to build edible school gardens and orchards with outdoor learning kitchens, in Los Angeles Unified School District schools. Build days are held on Saturdays. No special skills are required to help. You can also sign up to teach cooking, art or gardening classes with the students.

Tamales; Credit: Homegirl Cafe

1. Have lunch: Homegirl Cafe in Chinatown works with “at-risk and formerly gang-involved young women and men to become contributing members of our community through training in restaurant service and culinary arts.” They give people a chance to change their lives through work and skill building. All you have to do to contribute is order lunch. What could be easier?

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