HopeNet

Having women in leadership is important for equality, equity, and inclusion. HopeNet recognizes this and is proud that 40% of its board is made up of women and to have a woman leading the organization as its Executive Director. This is a strength of HopeNet but, much more work needs to be done. As HopeNet is currently seeking to expand its board, it aims to include the voices of more women and those that reflect the community it serves. Please reach out if you are interested.... This Women’s History Month, HopeNet would like to show appreciation for its women board members Floydette Gibson (top left), Nydia Barakat (bottom left), Star Brown (top right), and Laurie Brown (bottom right). And the Executive Director, Brandy Muñiz (center). #Womeninleadership #womenshistorymonth2021 #womenshistorymonth #foodinsecurity #fightinghunger #equalityequityandinclusion #equality #women #womeninpower #herstory #womenempowerment

The @bruinshelter is hosting HopeNet and other great organizations to talk about food and housing insecurity. We will be discussing the complexities and disparities surrounding food insecurity among our unhoused neighbors. Learn more about current challenges faced by our unhoused community and how we can take action to support it! RSVP at: bit.ly/lafoodpanel. Join us tonight at 5pm! #foodinsecurity #foodinsecurityawareness #endinghomelessness #UCLA #bruin

To celebrate #BHM, HopeNet is looking back on how the Black Panther Party utilized social food programs and food to fuel education, revolution, and the survival of black children. In 1969, The Black Panther Party was able to get donated food from grocery stores and advice from nutritionists to start its Free Breakfast For School Children program. #theblackpanthers then prepared and served that food to school children, some who had never eaten breakfast until the program, once... a day and free of charge. Teachers and school officials noticed an immediate change in the children. They were more alert, less tired, and not hungry. The #foodprogram started with one church in #oakland,ca and initially fed a handful of children. It grew and ended up feeding thousands of children at multiple sites nationwide. The FBI, headed by J. Edgar Hoover who hated the BPP, ultimately #destroyed the program citing it as, potentially the greatest threat to efforts by authorities to neutralize BPP and destroy what it stands for. To destroy the program and the #BPP, the FBI intimidated parents with violence. They lied and said the food was poison and even broke into a church to destroy the food by urinating on it; the program was officially extinguished. The Black Panthers breakfast program did end up putting pressure on political leaders to feed children before school. In 1975, the School Breakfast Program was permanently implemented by the government. Today it is a standard that feeds almost 15 million children nationwide. We do not forget that it was hate, racism, and spite that ended the Free Breakfast for School Children program. Despite these injustices, the BPP influence and work provided a foundation for all social food programs, like ours. We thank the Black Panthers for teaching food-based organizations how to use the power of food to serve and advance underserved communities. This Black History Month, celebrate the BPP and black people's contribution to social food programs and recognizing the power of food.

2020 has been an unexpected year for HopeNet. We accomplished more than we even thought was possible since the pandemic increased demand by almost DOUBLE. The reality is that this increased demand pushed HopeNet resources to the limit. Still, thanks to you: our donors, partners, volunteers, and supporters, we were able to meet that demand. We are beyond grateful to everyone who made this possible; we survived 2020 thanks to you! Going into 2021, we still need your help. So ma...ny need free food that is healthy and accessible. HopeNet intends to continue to meet that need, pandemic of not! As we get closer and closer to 2021, we’d love to know that we can count on you to be a part of our mission of food justice. Please use the QR code, or the link below, to donate today. See you in 2021, stronger than ever! http://www.hopenetla.org/donate

This #GivingTuesday and holiday season, we at HopeNet are highlighting the idea of #givingwhatyoucan . A year like this, we know it is easy to think of giving as conditional. To feel like you have nothing to give or what you can give is not enough. Well, that is simply not true! Giving what you can is as impactful and generous as giving everything. It is also, always, enough! You have an ear to give to a friend who is struggling. You have a happy memory of a loved one to g...ive to your family. You have a joke to give a laugh to co-workers. You have time to give to a good cause that supports perfectly good strangers. These gifts, as small as they may seem, are just some examples of how giving what you can create immediate and lasting change in big ways. The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on people's lives. Many have lost work, family, friends, and/or the chance to celebrate important life milestones. We have seen people who have never been to a food pantry suddenly and indefinitely come to rely on HopeNet as its main food source. HopeNet pantries have seen the need increase up to 50%, yet HopeNet continues to provide quality and healthy food to all its pantries. So far this year, we have provided 3,000,000 meals! The reality, however, is the pandemic has pushed HopeNet to its limit. This Giving Tuesday, we at HopeNet ask for your help to feed Los Angeles’ most food insecure, especially as we make it through changes brought on by COVID-19. Please give/donate using the link below. Whether it is a $1 or $1,000 donation, we ask you to give what you can and know that whatever your generous gift is, it means the world to us and has an impact. The FB reports that $1 is the equivalent of 4 meals. So, while $1 may seem insignificant, it makes BIG significant changes for those that HopeNet serves. You can also give the gift of kind words on our social media. Let us know how you've personally seen how #givingwhatyoucan has had a big impact this year. Thank you! Be safe and well. HopeNet paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2271137

The Pandemic is not over and out food pantries need your help more now than at any time during the last thirty years.

HopeNetLA is looking for volunteers! Our delivery program deliveries meals to seniors, letting them choose from a range of healthy food provided through the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Food delivery helps! Our seniors work hard to make sure they have enough for their lives, spreading their money-sometimes very thin-for food, medications, rent... costs that pile up over time. Our food delivery program relieves stress, gives opportunities for more nutrition for our seniors, & frees up time for doing the things they value the most. Be a part of a program that’s changing lives! https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp3298336.jsp

A special thanks to Karen A. Hoffman, Bill Ahmanson, & the entire team at the Ahmanson Foundation, who have approved a $20,000 grant for HopeNet! The funding will support our Food Delivery program to low income, house-bound seniors. The Ahmanson Foundation serves Los Angeles County by funding cultural projects in the arts and humanities, education at all levels, health care, programs related to homelessness and underserved populations as well as a wide range of human servic...es. By supporting non-profit organizations that demonstrate sound fiscal management, efficient operation, and program integrity, the Foundation strives to enhance the quality of life and cultural legacy of the Los Angeles community. https://theahmansonfoundation.org/

The Larchmont Chronicle, a long time supporter of HopeNet, published an article about the cancellation of the Taste of Larchmont as well as the support we still need.

HopeNet is HIRING!!!

Tickets now Available for Taste of Larchmont: A Day at the Beach http://www.hopenetla.org/taste-of-larchmont

http://www.hopenetla.org/taste-of-larchmont

Guess who's coming to stay.....

SAVE THE DATE!! Taste of Larchmont 2019 will be held on August 26, 2019. More details coming soon!!

Waiting for the shutdown to end? Waiting for a paycheck? Need food? Search our webpage www.hopenetla.org for food pantries, hot meals and sack lunches in the mid-Wilshire area. Search @lafoodbank website for other locations nearer to you. Because none of our neighbors should go hungry.

Time is running out! Only 14 more days to make a tax deductible donation to HopeNet LA and provide free, healthy meals to your neighbors suffering from food insecurity. Visit http://hopenetla.org/donate/ to make your donation today!

Today is the National Day of Giving or #givingtuesday. Take the opportunity to support your favorite charity and the services they provide. Whether it is $1 or $1000 every little bit helps. Click http://hopenetla.org/donate/ to donate to HopeNet today. You can make a one time contribution or an ongoing, monthly contribution.