Long Beach City Partners With Food Finders Organization To Open Fresh Food Hub At Admiral Kidd Park

Long Beach CA

29 April, 2022

7:55 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Long Beach: April 27, 2022 Long Beach, CA – The community will soon be able to access fresh food at a new Food Finders Hub, provided by the nonprofit organization Food Finders, at Admiral Kidd Park to serve individuals experiencing a high level of food insecurity. City of Long Beach Departments of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) and Health and Human Services (Health Department) and the Food Finders organization will host a grand opening ceremony for the new hub on Saturday, April 30, at 9 a.m. at Admiral Kidd Park, located at 2125 Santa Fe Ave. "The need to assist lower income families affected by business closures and unemployment during the pandemic is a critical, ongoing issue," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "Our partnership with Food Finders is one way to help ensure access to healthy food for our hard-hit residents." Food Finders will staff the Hub and manage weekly food distribution and monthly programming, including a community marketplace, through their network of partners. The container is capable of safely storing produce, dairy and other perishable food items. In response to the increased need for access to healthy food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Department, in partnership with local food banks and community partners, has been organizing and supporting ongoing large-scale emergency food distribution events across the city. The City's partnership with Food Finders enhances the existing emergency food distribution efforts taking place in Long Beach. Food Finders, founded in 1989, is a food rescue nonprofit organization with a primary focus of reducing hunger while also reducing food waste by improving nutrition in food insecure communities. Through their work, millions of pounds of wholesome food are saved every year. Since the early stages of the pandemic, Admiral Kidd Park has been used as an emergency food distribution site by the Health Department and community partners. Admiral Kidd Park is located near the Health Department's West Facilities Center, which hosts the City's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Long Beach's meal and grocery services to local families. "This Food Hub at Admiral Kidd Park adds to the nutrition resources for this community that really needs it," said Councilmember Roberto Uranga. "Contributions from Food Finders and the nearby WIC program, along with efforts by the Boys and Girls Club to provide food, mean that residents who lack access to grocery stores have less food insecurity." For more information about the Food Finders Hub at Admiral Kidd Park, please call Alma Castro in the Park Planning and Partnership Office at 562.570.3145. About Food Finders Food Finders is a non-profit food rescue organization with a mission to eliminate hunger and food waste while improving nutrition in local food insecure communities. Food Finders rescues wholesome food, personal hygiene items, household items and pet food from LA produce market, grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, schools, farmer's markets, catering companies, manufacturers and distributors. Food is then delivered directly to one of 330 partner agencies. In 28 years, over 134 million pounds of food has been rescued, enough food for nearly 111 million meals or enough food to feed the state of CA more than 2.8 times! Visit https://foodfinders.org for more information. About the City of Long Beach Home to approximately 480,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport and the Port of Long Beach. The City also has a highly-respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, five golf courses, 166 parks, miles of beaches, marinas and bike paths. For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit http://longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. This press release was produced by the City of Long Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.