People Making A Difference: Local Group Provides Free Lunches To LA County's Unhoused Residents
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Sometimes the simplest gestures can mean the most, and for someone who is hungry, that gesture could be a brown bag lunch.
"We started by asking our friends to make 10 lunches and bring them to one location," Andrea Rothschild said.
Rothschild is part of a group called Hang Out Do Good that seeks to help those in need and do more for the community at-large.
Last year, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group started making and distributing lunches to people experiencing homelessness — an act of kindness that has since caught on.
"Today we have 13 food drop-off locations, all across Los Angeles County," Rothschild said. "There are 40 organizations that pick up our lunches every Sunday from the Hollywood Food Coalition and distribute them to as many as 7,000 people — every single Sunday."
But the brown bags represent more than just a meal. They represent dignity, respect and an opportunity for further assistance.
"They're giving somebody a full bag of food and water, and it allows them to create a connection and to create trust with the person they're outreaching to," Rothschild said. "So it is creating some solutions for some people."
And to add a little more joy, many of the bags are hand decorated before delivery. It's a small act of kindness that's turned into a movement.
"I think about it every single time I'm buying the food," Rothschild said. "I think about what will excite them to open up the bag and pull out the food and whether they're going to like it. It's really bringing a community together."
Over the last year, and with the help of the Hollywood Food Coalition, Hang Out Do Good has provided more than 240,000 lunches to Angelenos experiencing homelessness. More information can be found on the organization's website.
