Boyle Heights Beat / Pulso de Boyle Heights is a local nonprofit news organization serving the communities of Boyle Heights and the Eastside.
A free community food pantry that had been set up outside a market in East Los Angeles now has a new home in Boyle Heights , thanks to community members who rallied to keep it going. Created by East L.
A. native Rebecca Gonzales, the pantry had been stationed outside of Ramirez Meat Market on the corner of Folsom Street and Rowan Avenue since November, offering produce, snacks and shelf-stable items. Gonzales created the resource after seeing how ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and SNAP delays were affecting the most vulnerable in her community. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Rosa Ramirez, who has owned Ramirez Meat Market for 26 years, said she hadn’t expected the pantry to be permanent and noticed that fewer people were coming into her store when the pantry was stocked. Ramirez appreciated Gonzales’ intentions, but said the piles of donated clothes and shoes next to the pantry were difficult to manage.An L.A. County employee makes the allegation in a whistleblower complaint and in interviews about the response to the deadly fire. County officials dispute the allegations.“Do’s federal bribery conviction was the tip of the iceberg,” said his successor, Supervisor Janet Nguyen. She called for further investigation by law enforcement.Eviction defense for tenants at risk of homelessness was set to end March 31 if the city didn’t award a new contract.Soon after learning the pantry would have to move, Gonzales posted the news on Instagram. Within an hour, she received about a dozen messages from friends and community members reaching out to help. “I was worried that I was gonna have to just bring it home and it’s gonna be a lapse of services,” Gonzales said. That same day, Yvonne I. Monje Perez, owner of SuperNova Thrift — a shop near Mariachi Plaza that sells second-hand clothing — reached out. Though she had never met Gonzales, Perez didn’t think twice about offering help. “We could benefit from something like that here in this neighborhood,” Perez recalled thinking after seeing the post. With coordination from Gonzales and guidance from the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, Perez and her husband picked up the pantry last Friday and it was open for the community the following day. “It makes me so happy seeing people come to it and look at it, and just take from it,” said Perez. “It’s been received very well, a lot of people are very happy about it.”Now, Perez and Gonzales have a schedule for opening and closing the pantry, and donations have continued to roll in. While Gonzales does not keep track of how many donations come in every day, she noticed items usually remain at the end of the day, a change from when the pantry would go empty in East L.A. Looking ahead, Gonzales hopes to inspire others to start free food pantries in their own communities. “People want to help,” she said. “People want to do good things. People want to see other people not just survive, but thrive.” The East LA free food pantry was recently moved in front of SuperNova Thrift on 1st Street in Boyle Heights.You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead . Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community. Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
Community Pantry Donated Food East La East Los Angeles Food Donations Free Food Resources
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
One dead in East Bay after couple is stabbedContra Costa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the violence in Bay Point about 4:25 p.m.
Read more »
Logan Heights Library to host USPS For ‘Low and Slow' lowrider forever stampsThe United States Postal Service will celebrate lowrider culture Friday by hosting an event to release a new set of Forever stamps adorned with the…
Read more »
USPS unveils new lowrider forever stamps in Logan Heights ceremonyThe stamps featuring lowriders are 'rooted in 1940s-era Mexican American and Chicano communities throughout the American Southwest,' a USPS statement read.
Read more »
The beauty of ‘low and slow’: California lowriders get their own postage stamp in Logan HeightsCrowds lined up outside the Logan Heights library Friday to score a first-day release of the stamps, snaking through a parking lot full of kaleidoscopic lowriders and their admirers.
Read more »
Dearborn Heights mayor’s pathetic attempt to rationalize Michigan synagogue attackTerrorism is either condemned or it is justified — you can’t “both sides” this issue, even if you disagree with Israel’s right to exist.
Read more »
Heights University Hospital Emergency Room to Close, Sparking OutcryHeights University Hospital, formerly Christ Hospital, is closing its emergency room, impacting emergency care access for thousands. Local leaders and community members are protesting the closure, with the mayor demanding legal action to prevent it. The hospital cites funding cuts as the reason, while the new owners claim a high percentage of patients rely on charity care.
Read more »