OPEN ARMS FOOD PANTRY AND RESOURCE CENTER 2010 West 62nd Street LOS ANGELES 90047
Our Story
Open Arms Food Pantry and Resource Center erected in March of 2018.
The organization was spearheaded by a group of likeminded individuals
all residing in Los Angeles City to advocate for the worthiness of
poverty-stricken families and homeless that lacked accessibility to
organic, nutritious, quality produce and groceries as well as those
experiencing food insecurity which is very prevalent in Los Angeles
County at a rate of 1 out of every 4 households. With the collective
efforts of Kenrick Gibson, Myeta Pugh Perdomo, Sherwin Forde &
George Tindley they were able to build growing relationships with the
chronically homeless & impoverished families within SPA (Service
Provider Area) 6 which holds the highest rating of economic disparities,
homelessness and food insecurity of entire LA County. Programming
was then established once corporate partners were on board that aligned
with the organization’s overall mission such as Matthew:25, Proctor and
Gamble, Delivering Good, Good 360, Souls 4 Soles, Eradicate the Hate,
Michael Kors, LA Regional Food Bank, Mattel, Feed the Children and
United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Their first location was established
in Leimert Park Village which is one of the most historic areas of South
LA for the early African American Jazz scene including the memorable
“Dicks Coffee Shop”. Dicks Coffee Shop was one of the first “black-
owned” café’s that opened its doors to many notable jazz greats,
homeless and the hungry.
Our second location located in South LA became the organization’s
distribution site and main headquarters for large scale community
distributions and partnering agency pick-ups for donations. By, 2020 our
services expanded to not only providing meals, groceries and clothing
but also providing a drop in “Diaper Bank” sponsored by Pampers &
United Way of Greater Los Angeles that to date has distributed over
70k diapers to families with infants. On a monthly scale we service
over #500-#1,000 residents experiencing hardships due to COVID-19,
unemployment,
Continued
disabilities, immigration status and either being homeless with essentials donated to our organization from Proctor and Gamble .
We save households roughly over ($150) per month with our donated product to help supplement our client’s household. As the organization’s efforts continue and our agency expands programming the annual budget exceeds well over $165,000 and continues to increase with the costs of overhead, staff, transportation costs, food storage, program supplies, foods and infant care items. Government and private funding cover nearly 75% of our total budget but most importantly is gaining sustaining donors that continuously support our efforts within the communities we serve. Donors are given the opportunity to work hands on with our agency through volunteer opportunities, sponsoring food boxes, donating product an. These are all effective methods of supporting our efforts and advocating for food equity amongst everyone in Los Angeles. Why is it important that we get support of donors? Data shows that Los Angeles County houses a staggering 30% + of households that cannot afford groceries throughout the month nor can keep dinner on their tables and over 1 million residents participate in the Cal- Fresh program which represents over 66 percent of persons whom are eligible for the nutritional supplemental program. Although our agency is fairly new and small in comparison to much larger charities, our efforts are huge and making an impact that matters most to the populations that are in desperate need.
Let’s keep putting food on the tables of those in need & serving the community with valuable resources!