Before sunrise, cars began lining Baldwin Park Boulevard, where drivers sat patiently waiting for a chance to buy free food when the distribution event began a few hours later.
Their sense of urgency was justified. Volunteers began distributing supplies at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, and by 11:30 a.m. all 2,000 boxes were gone, according to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Heavy traffic continued to fill the surrounding streets, and many people were turned away empty-handed.
“Knowing that people are lining up at 5 in the morning, because it’s that important to them, tells me the need is so great,” said LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, “and it’s unfortunate that we don’t have enough for everyone.”
Solis’ office organized Wednesday’s food distribution as part of a partnership launched last month with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to address growing food insecurity in his district.
While food insecurity has been a long-standing problem in LA County, the issue has taken on a new sense of urgency as inflation continues to rise across the country.
On Tuesday, the US government announced that inflation rose to a three-year high in April as the war with Iran raised energy costs.
Gas prices have risen more than $1.50 across the US in just over two months, reaching a national average of $4.50 a gallon and an average of $6.15 a gallon in California, according to the American Automobile Assn. In April, grocery prices rose 0.7%, the largest one-month rate in nearly four years, as meat, dairy and produce all saw cost increases, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The recent rate hikes put more pressure on the already strained budgets of many households — especially working-class families, seniors who rely on Social Security and those living on disability payments, said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“It feels like the pot continues to boil and boil a little,” said Zamcolo.
The sudden loss of jobs and income during the pandemic put food insecurity in the spotlight in 2020, and there has been limited relief since then as the period of inflation following the pandemic has broken consumer price records across the country, he said.
In January 2025, the food bank saw an increase in demand when thousands of Angelenos were displaced by the wildfires. This was followed by the Trump administration’s immigration policy, which disrupted the income of many families and businesses that serve the immigrant community.
Then, in the last half of the year, the government shutdown led to delays in the distribution of government food aid, further increasing the need for help to put groceries on the table.
One in four households in LA County reported having trouble getting enough food by 2025, according to a study from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
“We were hoping that in 2026 the demand would decrease a little since 2025 was an amazing year with many things happening, but we don’t see it,” said Zamcolo. “We see in 2026 that demand is still very strong.”
That need was evident at Wednesday’s food distribution event. Solis spoke to a number of people who attended the event and said that some were choosing between putting gas in their car and eating at the table.
“One woman I spoke to told me that this will help a lot, because her husband was recently detained by ICE and he was the only support person,” said Solis. “He couldn’t find a job, he was helping to support their three young children.
“Just hearing the words and stories of these family members is sad,” he added.
His office released $1 million to host four major food distribution events with a food bank and a number of small donations. The next tournament will be held on May 29 at Montebello Golf Course from 9 am to 12 pm.
