Each year we have been blessed by the Deacons and members of Bel Air Presbyterian Church. Thanksgiving Baskets has been a long tradition of the Deacons. For over thirty plus years, Bel Air Church has sought to meet the needs of Los Angeles families and individuals both physically and spiritually through offering food and Bibles each Thanksgiving season.

“Bless this food to its intended use… and feed our souls on the Bread of Life.”

“I grew up hearing that prayer every night around the supper table,” Dan Vining, one of Bel Air’s deacons said. “It was my father’s prayer, my grandfather’s before him. I kept remembering those words the morning we assembled the baskets on the church parking lot – a frozen turkey, bags of dressing and potatoes and rice and beans, cans of vegetables – and, right on top, just before we closed the box, a Bible, in English or Spanish. This too, the Word of God, the Bread of Life, was essential for the feeding of the multitudes. What would Thanksgiving be without it?”

The Bel Air Church Thanksgiving Basket event is sponsored by their Deacons before Thanksgiving each year.  This past Thanksgiving over 800 boxes, each with enough food for a family of ten, were assembled and distributed to those in need through a network of other churches, ministries, agencies and organizations. The Valley Food Bank has been blessed to receive these complete dinner boxes each year for distribution to some of our pantry families. Thank you Bel Air Pres.

What was supposed to be a fresh start for Debra and Dwayne turned into an unexpected crisis. After Debra moved from her hometown to escape a difficult situation and to give her son Dwayne a better childhood she noticed Dwayne was not acting like other children his age. She took him to the doctor and learned he had autism. “It has changed my life entirely,” she said. “Dwayne is my full-time job now.” Debra had planned to find work after moving. However, because of Dwayne’s diagnosis and no budget or deep pockets for specialized daycare, she could not work and had to stay home and care for him.

With no income, Debra turned to a partnering pantry to help feed her and her son. “Before finding the pantry, I had spent many nights going to sleep with an empty stomach, making sure he had all the food in the house. I do not know what we would have done without the food from the pantry.”

Soon Debra hopes to enroll Dwayne in a public preschool for children with similar development issues. Once that happens, she can find a job. In the meantime, despite all the challenges she has had to overcome, Debra would not change anything and so very thankful for the support and encouragement.

People throughout Van Nuys continue to struggle with hunger because they cannot provide themselves or their families with the healthy groceries and fresh meals they need. The Valley Food Bank is one place they can rely on to provide nourishment for their bodies, and souls. But “Fighting Hunger and Feeding Hope” can only happen with the financial and volunteer support provided by individuals and groups throughout our community. So, when Julia Farzaneh, administrator extraordinaire and team coordinator for Stantec’s local volunteer activities, told me that she had 16 team members willing to dive in wherever needed, I was more than willing to put them to work.

The people who work at Stantec share a passion for making the communities where they live and work stronger and more vibrant. This is the second year a team of passionate folks have shown up at the Valley Food Bank willing to lend a hand in the warehouse and supporting our ongoing campaign, “Fighting Hunger – Feeding Hope.” This year, a small but mighty team processed food donations and provided quality control to existing inventory. All their efforts helped to ensure in-code non-perishable food items would be ready for distribution to needy families.

Each person who showed up believed that, according to Julie, “The best exercise for the heart is reaching out and helping others.” And they definitely helped. Thank you Stantec for giving your time and energy to the Valley Food Bank so together we can help struggling families in need of essential resources.

I continue to be thrilled and humbled to work alongside the Valley Food Bank’s outstanding staff, Pantry network partners, donors and volunteers. We believe access to food and nutrition should be available to all. I am looking forward to learning from others how we can better serve those in need as we navigate a challenging environment attempting to tackle complex issues – affordable housing; homelessness; food insecurity and safe neighborhoods.

Recently we completed eighteen years serving the community. We started with humble beginnings as an offshoot of the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. Our mission has not changed over the years, but our reach certainly has. Thanks to our collaborative model of partnering with places of worship and other non-profits in the area, we distribute essential food resources to more than 44,000 families each year representing 160,000 individuals. To make that happen, we collect more than 2,000,000 lbs. of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as 2,225,000 lbs. of canned and dry goods annually.

It takes a caring and generous community to ensure hunger issues have a priority and continuous efforts are made to eliminate food insecurity. As we continue to search for the best and most efficient ways to ensure struggling families have the food they need to thrive, we are thankful beyond words for the support, encouragement and prayers of our heroes and partners. Trusting your holidays will be joy filled and surrounded by family and friends that you love and appreciate.

In the year 2018, the North Valley Caring Services outreach team encountered Lucy sleeping under a bridge in North Hills. Lucy and her mother had been homeless for several years. After several exchanges, Lucy finally agreed to attend our food pantry. She was amazed by the quality and amount of food that was available at no cost.

Lucy became a regular at our food pantry and we learned that she was a believer that attended church most of her adolescence. When her mother became homeless, Lucy joined her on the streets. She quickly got introduced to drugs and a criminal lifestyle. She had given up hope and God became an afterthought.

While working as a volunteer in our pantry, Lucy was able to provide food consistently for her mom as well as the others in her homeless camp. But more importantly, Lucy was able to connect once more with God through our pantry.

The love of God is regularly offered in the process of giving to others. She grew stronger in her faith and with the added help of support services, Lucy is now off the streets. She married a God-fearing man and they have welcomed their first baby boy named Isaac. It takes a village to run a food pantry; it takes God to bless that village.