City of West Hollywood Activates ‘West Hollywood Responds’ Program to Encourage Donations to Organizations that Provide Food and Nutritious Meals Following SNAP Disruptions

The City of West Hollywood is activating its West Hollywood Responds program to encourage contributions to agencies and organizations that provide food and nutritious meals following disruptions to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is facing serious funding interruptions because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

West Hollywood community members who can do so are encouraged to provide financial contributions to local food banks, nutrition programs, and meal delivery services. Monetary donations enable these organizations to purchase fresh, healthy foods and essential supplies efficiently, ensuring that resources are directed where they are needed most. People may also volunteer their time to assist with meal preparation, distribution, or wellness checks for vulnerable neighbors. Collective community support helps safeguard access to nutritious food for all.

The City has assembled a list of organizations on its website at https://www.weho.org/wehoresponds, as follows:

• The Seeds of Hope initiative, a program of The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, provides fresh produce and pantry items, nutrition education, healthy cooking classes, and therapeutic gardening. Seeds of Hope hosts free food distributions and West Hollywood community members can pick up free produce and staples to prepare meals at home at no cost. For more information, visit https://www.seedsofhopela.org or call (213) 482-2040. To donate, visit https://donate.stripe.com/dR6dTr0LT8nDcO46oo.

• Jewish Family Service (JFS) administers the JFS Senior Nutrition Program providing hot lunches every Monday to Friday for older adults and people living with disabilities in West Hollywood at the Plummer Park Community Center and also operates the SOVA Community Food and Resource Program, which provides a pop-up pantry. For more information, visit https://www.jfsla.org or call (818) 988-7682. To donate, visit https://www.jfsla.org/donate.

• Project Angel Food has a long-standing partnership with the City of West Hollywood in offering home-delivered meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. For more information, visit https://www.angelfood.org or call (323) 845-1800. To donate, visit https://angelfood.org/delivery/donate/donate.

• World Harvest provides grocery vouchers available through the City's Food Access Program, redeemable for fresh produce, panty items, and essential household goods at the World Harvest facility, located on Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, near N. La Brea Avenue. For more information, email [email protected] or call (213) 290-0364. To donate, visit https://worldharvestfoodbank.org (click on the donate link).

• Farm Habit has developed a Shutdown Dollar Program for the Helen Albert Certified Farmers' Market that provides $15 in shopping credits to customers with a $0 EBT balance during the federal SNAP disruptions. These Shutdown Dollars can be used to purchase eligible food items (fresh produce, breads, yogurts, etc.). Community members wishing to assist with donations can contribute to the Sprouts of Promise Shutdown Emergency Fund at https://www.farmhabit.com to support the Shutdown Dollar Program.

• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank coordinates a network of more than 900 food pantries in Los Angeles County, distributing food and other essentials to children, seniors, families and other individuals in need. To donate, visit https://www.lafoodbank.org (and click on the donate link).

• FeedLA helps seniors, families, and kids keep healthy food on the table year-round at YMCA locations across Los Angeles County at no cost. To donate, visit https://www.ymcala.org/programs/social/feedla.

As background, the West Hollywood City Council first established West Hollywood Responds as a local disaster relief program in 2005 developed to provide assistance to the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina. It has been reactivated multiple times during the past several years, including an active effort for people to donate to organizations that are aiding people in Ukraine, relief efforts for devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, and devastating wildfires in Maui, Los Angeles County, and more.

For more information, please contact the City of West Hollywood's Human Services Division. Visit the City's website at https://www.weho.org/humanservices or call (323) 848-6510. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing dial 711 or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) for California Relay Service (CRS) assistance.

For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at https://www.weho.org/email, and visit the City's calendar of meetings and events at https://www.weho.org/calendar. Receive text updates by texting "WeHo" to (323) 848-5000.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood's Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or [email protected].