LOS ANGELES — Several volunteers unpack and sort boxes containing fresh vegetables and fruits inside a building that once housed a butcher shop.

Handfuls of produce are packed into individual bags to be distributed to community members during the next food distribution of Vegans of LA.

"As someone who experienced food insecurity when I first came here to Los Angeles, I understand that when a person can't cover their basic needs, such as nutrition, it can create a loss of light within the person," said Vegans of LA Founder Gwenna Hunter.

What You Need To Know

  • Vegans of LA distributes plant-based fresh foods every third Thursday of the month

  • According to a USC study, as of July, nearly a third of Angelenos suffered from food insecurity

  • Vegans of LA is the first vegan food bank in Los Angeles that feeds hundreds of people

  • LA's food insecurity directly coincides with the reduction of substantial government assistance like food stamps

Hunter's experience with food insecurity and the lack of whole, fresh foods at food banks she depended on led her to start Vegans of LA. 

It is the first vegan food bank in Los Angeles, feeding hundreds of people every third Thursday of the month.

The organic produce is sourced locally from organizations like Food Forward and What's Good Produce, which helps food-insecure Angelenos and serves the needs of anyone who requires a plant-based diet.

"It is showing people how to eat healthier and how to combine plant-based foods and make a meal," said Hunter. "Most people are so programmed to look at vegetables as sides and then as an animal product as a main dish, which is so incredibly backward."

According to a 2023 USC study, as of July, nearly a third of Angelenos suffered from food insecurity. The highest rates since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

"We have people that live like that on a daily basis," said Hunter. "Trying to figure out how to survive in a system that makes you earn eating on a planet where the food already is here."

That same study found that the spike in food insecurity directly coincides with the reduction of substantial government assistance, such as food stamps, that started during the pandemic.

In California, that aid ended in March 2023.

"They live a hard life out there and they work hard for the little bit that they get," said Hunter. "I understood the gratitude and the reciprocity and the appreciation for the abundance that we have."

People like Patricia Barrios receive an abundance of vegetables, fruits, and plant-based foods, which have kept her family fed while she's been unemployed.

"This is probably about $100 right now in groceries," said Barrios. "With groceries, I'll take like ten bags, and it will be like $120, $110. A loaf of bread right now, it's like $5. This is a big, big saving for sure; it helps a lot for our family."

These whole foods feed Barrios' family and teach about healthier eating, one meal at a time.

"It's healthier because I try to do things like lasagna, using squash or something," said Barrios. "That helps me a lot with like supplementing a lot of my foods." 

Hunter said that the efforts of Vegans of LA are an invaluable resource that recognizes the need for a specific food bank to address food insecurity in Los Angeles. It's a food bank powered by people like Hunter, who give fresh fruits and vegetables to nourish a community's bodies and souls.

"Here in Los Angeles, one of the richest cities in the world, where there's so much food waste," said Hunter. "There's no reason for a single human being to be hungry here. No reason."