America is hungry, the economy is in the dumps, foreclosures are rising, and food banks and meal serving organizations are reporting record demand for their services.
It would seem that something has to give, but that's not the case — so far, anyway — in the Skid Row district of Downtown Los Angeles. It's one of the hardest-pressed neighborhoods in the nation, filled with poor folks, disabled individuals, and many others with broken dreams and busted lives. The residents of Skid Row don't have to go hungry, though, thanks to the meals offered by places such as missions and other social service providers, religious ministries, and even small diners that manage to find a profit margin while offering meals on the cheap.
The LA Mission, Midnight Mission, and the Union Rescue Mission are the three largest institutions of their kind in Skid Row. They combine to serve thousands of meals each day, and each plate is part of the cornerstone for their respective philosophies and programs.
"Hope begins with a meal," says Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission on the 300 block of E. 5th Street.
As many as 1,500 individuals get some hope in the form of a meal at the Los Angeles Mission daily. Smith says the place takes great pride in serving quality food, including salads made with the weight-conscious in mind. Four chefs work around the clock preparing meals that are favored by visitors, with macaroni and cheese, and anything with beef at the top of the charts.
Smith says the Los Angeles Mission has seen an increase in demand for meals of nearly 10% since the recession took hold in earnest in September. That came to a total of 492,000 meals last month, up from 450,000 for the same period a year earlier. Smith says that his staff estimates that this rise in demand will continue into at least the third quarter of 2009.
The totals include boxed "take out" lunches that the Los Angeles Mission provides to many individuals, including some who work full time but can't afford lunch on their own. Others have been laid off and can no longer afford to feed their families. Requests for boxed lunches have also increased in recent months.
"It is clearly economically based," Smith says. "We were distributing, on average, between 100 to 150 box lunches a day. Each week we have seen an incremental rise of between 50 to 100 lunches. We're now at approximately 500 lunches per day, and it rises every week."
One block south, on 6th Street, sits the Midnight Mission, where Orlando Ward sees pretty much the same situation. The meal program is a vital part of the Midnight Mission's services, he says, because requests for food are often the first contact anyone has with the missions. Food is a door opener for additional help and services, and often brings substance abusers into treatment. The chefs at the Midnight Mission cooking at 1:00 a.m., getting food ready for the three daily meals served on the premises and a mobile meal service. The Midnight Mission, too, has seen a steady increase in the demand for meals over the past year.
"Our demand from the substance abuser and homeless person usually holds steady at about 1300 meals a day," Ward says. "However due to the ongoing economic crisis, we have seen the number of meals increase to approximately 2100 per day."
While demand for food services is growing steadily, donations at the Midnight Mission are down 14%, according to Ward. At this point the mission has not had to cut back on their programs, but he says he fears the worst.
"We do not expect to see any slowdown in the need for our food services, and we are lucky in that we do not depend on government grants for funding," Ward says. "However, donations are down and at some point we are going to have to take a hard look at the numbers and determine what to do with the Mobil Meal unit."
The Mobile Unit is a food truck that travels throughout the Skid Row community and the surrounding area. It serves folks who cannot make it to the Midnight Mission or similar locations. The Mobile Unit sets locations around the neighborhood, similar to how privately operated, profit-seeking food trucks serve the general public.
The various missions lead the main assault against hunger in Skid Row, but they are by no means alone in that fight. Other less-publicized organizations supplement the efforts of the missions with food programs of their own, many of which coincide with their residential programs. The Volunteers of America (VOA) Transition House on Crocker Street serves two hot meals a day — breakfast and dinner for its clients, as well as a sandwich, fruit and cookie lunch meal. It customarily keeps up to 50 sack lunches with sandwiches and fruit on hand for the homeless and other hungry folks who walk in off of the street. VOA also serves veterans hot meals at its Ballantyne Apartment Complex on Wall Street.
SRO Housing Corporation, an affordable housing and social services provider, has a number of different food programs within its 26 residential buildings. It serves approximately 250,000 meals a year, and participates in a food bank. Each week it distributes bags of food to residents of its buildings, with staples such as beans and rice often in the mix, along with canned goods as well as fresh produce, frozen meats and poultry. Residents who receive the food bank supplies are often in a more stable position than others in Skid Row — and they often share any surplus with those that are less fortunate.
Throughout the week, different religious ministries and other groups arrive on Skid Row to serve food in all forms — from sandwiches in sack lunches to barbecue grilled hamburgers. Each ministry or group has their designated corner of the neighborhood, and everybody knows where and when to go. It is not uncommon to travel through Skid Row and see a line queuing up in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. Very often it's because a group will soon arrive to for their weekly visit to Skid Row. And when food arrives, no matter where you are on Skid Row, the word spreads.
The ministries have run into some problems with the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, whose representatives have lauded the efforts to distribute food but also found problems with sanitation. Food is distributed to the crowds on the streets, but rarely is any provision made to provide trash receptacles, and trash is often thrown everywhere. This generally occurs on Sunday, when most of the ministries visit the Skid Row community. At the end of the day, garbage is thrown everywhere and it provides substantial meals for rats that populate the area. City officials are working with the ministries to come up with a solution to this problem.
The other negative aspect of food distribution on Skid Row is the belief that some ministries are not totally altruistic in their food/meal programs. It is believed that they manipulate those in need, using food as a recruiting tool for their churches. In some cases, church services are held, and those who want to be fed must sit and listen to the message of the day. Very often there is little attention paid to the service, and a race to the food line as soon as it's over. It must be said, however, that the majority of ministries serving food on Skid Row do not make church service a perquisite for being fed.
Lastly, there is Tony's, a humble restaurant at the corner of 7th and Wall Streets. Tony's is where the upper income group on Skid Row dines. It is the meeting spot where people get together and discuss neighborhood events. This group is comprised of people who have gone through the process of transitioning from a homeless or transient lifestyle to one of more stability. They receive general relief from the county and are enrolled in the hot meals/food stamp program.
As the nation experiences hard times and people and families are having problems keeping food on the table, one thing is for sure during these hard economic times. Food is plentiful on Skid Row — at least for now.
More info:
* Los Angeles Mission
* Midnight Mission
* Union Rescue Mission
* The Volunteers of America (VOA)
* SRO Housing Corporation
Walter Melton is a writer for the L.A. Garment & Citizen.
Visit Walter Melton's blog at www.scribeskidrow.blogspot.com.
Graphics for collage from Los Angeles Mission, Midnight Mission and Union Rescue Mission; collage by LA Beez
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