The city of Inglewood hosted its 10th annual turkey giveaway Wednesday morning at Hollywood Park. The goal of the event was to serve over 2,000 Inglewood families with turkeys provided by Don Lee Farms and items provided by PepsiCo and Melissa’s Produce.
City of Inglewood Mayor James Butts was there to kick off the event and highlighted the importance of giving back to the community during the holidays.
“In every community, there’s times of Thanksgiving when there are people that don’t have what they should have,” said Butts. “Here in Inglewood, for the last 13 years, I’ve been mayor, we make sure that no family in this community goes without having a great Thanksgiving meal.”
According to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, one in four people in Los Angeles County face food insecurity. Due to increased living costs in Los Angeles County, many people who work often can’t make ends meet.
The drive-through event had lines of cars forming before it formally began at 9 a.m. Over 10 food stations with more than 60 community and corporate volunteers were set up with turkeys, boxes filled with traditional Thanksgiving ingredients and beverages ready to be distributed.
Inglewood native and notable rapper, Dedrick D’Mon Rolison, also known as Mack 10, acted as an event partner. He said Thanksgiving is a day of giving, so being able to give turkeys to community members was important to him.
“This is a beautiful thing,” said “Look at all these people, all these cars, already out here early in the morning. So it’s just a blessing to be able to do this for the community.”
The city worked with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for the distribution.
Roger Castle, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank chief development officer, said the food bank’s mission is that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County. He said in order for them to follow through, they need logistical support.
“We rescue millions of pounds of food every month in L.A. County and distribute that out,” Castle said. “Last year we did 115 million pounds of food. This year we’re looking to do more.”
The boxes that were given away included russet potatoes, carrots, Granny Smith apples and canned goods like green beans.
Anthony Jimenez, a volunteer at the event and a Pepsi merchandise manager, said that in recent years, it has become harder for many families to buy the ingredients necessary for a Thanksgiving dinner.
“Over the past few years, it’s a struggle to go out and go shopping,” he said. “Few years but prior, you can fill up your shopping cart for a hundred bucks, and now you get a couple items, that’s a hundred. So I think it’s really important to just really give back to the community.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over this past year, food prices in Los Angeles have risen by 3.5%. Meats, poultry, fish and eggs have seen a big increase.
Erica Melbourne, president of the Inglewood Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, has been volunteering at the pre-Thanksgiving event for many years.
“We just enjoy being able to see the smiles on the different family member faces, and being able to see the joy in being able to give back,” Melbourne said.
To help combat L.A. County residents’ struggle with hunger, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has other resources available on their website. For more information visit, lafoodbank.org.