Food News

Gwenna Hunter is striving to combat food insecurity in Los Angeles by opening the first vegan food bank. Hunter noticed the absence of vegan food banks due to which, she opened her own in Los Angeles. 

The first-ever vegan food bank has fed more than 500 people on Thursday of every month. A study conducted on this revealed that one in four households experienced food insecurity in 2022 in Los Angeles and things turned worse. 

Before opening a vegan food bank, Hunter wanted to see the impact of a vegan food aid program on the community and was glad to see how vegan food programs served the communities. Hunter made a significant impact on people’s lives by giving them access to fresh fruits, veggies, grains, herbs, and hot meals. 

To open a vegan food bank, Hunter would need freezers, refrigerators, trucks, employees, and a warehouse which seemed a daunting task to her in the beginning. Fortunately, she was lucky to collaborate on a vegan food program already running at USC. Consequently, Hunter got everything she needed to open her vegan food bank in Los Angeles. 

Fresh produce staples such as cabbage, mushrooms, and cilantro are served by a team at the vegan food bank. The donations given to the food bank are used to purchase additional produce which in turn helps Hunter to have diverse produce every month. 

Some of the most common produce donated includes bananas, apples, limes, and potatoes. Besides this, the food bank also has frozen vegan mushroom balls, vegan fish, vegan burgers, vegan jerky, and whatnot. The team also ensures that the food is in good condition before distributing it to the needy. 

Each person standing in the line gets to pick out whatever they want until the produce runs out. The vegan food bank acts as an invaluable resource to the community because it recognizes the need for a food bank to address food insecurity in Los Angeles. 

Hunter believes that free food resources should be available all over the planet and no one should be left hungry.