LA To Donate City Leftovers To Food Banks
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Los Angeles City Council adopted a policy Wednesday to facilitate the donation of surplus food from city agencies and city-sponsored events to food banks, homeless shelters and other organizations that help the needy.
KNX 1070's Bill Cooper reports
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"Today, we are taking a historic step in eradicating hunger in the city of Los Angeles," Councilman Jose Huizar said.
"By establishing a Surplus Food program, we will increase food donations to needy Angelenos, including a growing number of families and children," he said. "Our goal is quite simply to make donating surplus food
in the city of Los Angeles as common as recycling."
The policy requires that city departments and elected officials inform contractors that they can donate surplus food, and providing details on what types of food can be safely donated.
The website HelpFeedLA.org, has been established so that the city's 311 operators can refer callers to food banks to donate or receive food services.
Huizar's staff said with Los Angeles' unemployment figures being 3 points higher than the national average, one in six people receiving emergency food aid in the city have never received assistance in the past. They added that an estimated 5 million tons of consumable food are wasted annually in California.
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