History
World Harvest Food Bank was founded by Glen Curado, in the low income, Los Angeles' neighborhood of Pico Union, as a friendlier and more practical version of the food bank to the public, allowing families or individuals to walk in any time during week, and get the food assistance they seek. His past experience as manager of supermarket stores from national chains, served him well in implementing his vision, as he saw to combine the accessibility and familiarity of a regular market with the purpose of a food bank. Since it's inception, WHFB pioneered the produce oriented version of a food bank, in contrast to canned goods. This approach brings it own sets of difficulties, but the pay off is that beneficiaries walk out with fresh fruits and organic vegetables, an essential component in a healthy diet, and a challenge to low income families. WHFB has pressed on through rough economic times, providing over 200 million tons of food since its founding, to those in need.
Specialties
We provide low cost food to families and individuals in need of food assistance, in exchange of volunteer work or a monetary flat fee. Our warehouse outlet functions like a small market, opening six days a week, and allowing the beneficiaries to select their groceries. We add to their grocery cart a food basket we prepare with complimentary items. The average customers leaves with a cart full, composed of some 60% produce, 15% bread,10% dairy and 15% protein, weighting anything from 100 to 150 pounds or more. All the produce is fresh and organic, not frozen. We accept EBT, thus helping to maximize on the tight budget of low income recipients. All food and items are either surplus donations or purchased by us. We also carry items that are near of after the sell by dates.