FOOD CHAIN L.A.

Help Feed Your Community

Volunteer

we have saved over

76,205 lbs

of landfill-destined produce

FOOD WASTE IN L.A.

over one million tons of food go into LA landfills every year.

food insecurity

more than 2 million people in LA live with food insecurity -- that's 1 in 5.

covid-19 impacts

because of covid-19, numbers of those suffering from food insecurity have risen to 54 million.

Consulting

by some estimates as much as $57 billion of food is wasted annually

sources: goodfoodla.org, lafoodbank.org, aamc.org, oregon.gov

OUR MISSION

Food Chain L.A. is dedicated to fighting food insecurity and reducing food waste in our local community. We empower students to take action by rescuing surplus produce, baked goods, and other food items from farmers markets and small businesses. These donations are then distributed to food pantries, senior centers, youth programs, churches, and other volunteer-run organizations. Through this work, we aim to inspire students to build meaningful connections—with each other and with the communities they serve.

what we've accomplished

Our dedicated volunteers—spread across 8 schools in the L.A. area—help us collect fresh produce from vendors at 8 local farmers markets, as well as from several bakeries around the city. Every week, they visit these markets to pick up donations and deliver them to homeless shelters and distribution centers across Los Angeles. Over time, we’ve built meaningful relationships with our vendors, sharing a weekly commitment to supporting our community.

Want to see where we collect food? Head to our ABOUT page. Curious what volunteering looks like? Check out the photos on our VOLUNTEER page!

WHY FOOD CHAIN LA?

At Food Chain L.A., we focus on rescuing food from smaller, often-overlooked sources—local bakeries, restaurants, and farmers markets that big food-rescue organizations tend to pass by. We save high-quality food that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to small-scale recipients like community centers, homeless shelters, and neighborhood distribution hubs.

Our mission is to support families who rely on grassroots organizations rather than large food banks—especially during times of crisis like the pandemic. We're here to make sure good food reaches the people who need it most.

Since COVID-19, many food banks and distribution centers, such as the LA Food Bank and YMCA have stopped taking teen volunteers.

At Food Chain LA, we focus on getting high school students from our local communities involved in order to combat this issue.