East LA native stocks pantry at local shelter for homeless families amid coronavirus outbreak

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A car full of groceries during the coronavirus pandemic can be a sigh of relief, especially for those who live at Comunidad Cesar Chavez -- a shelter in Boyle Heights for homeless families.

"The majority of the kids here do rely on food nutrition program as meals for the day," said Christy Gomez, who drove up in her car full of food donations for the shelter on Monday. "So, I knew most of them won't have transportation or any means of getting to the designated areas that are giving out food. So, I thought fill up the food pantry because they are going to need it."

The East Los Angeles native was able to help the families with her charity Proyecto Happy Hearts.

"Saturday I posted via social media and it was just...it was like a firestorm. Everyone said they would participate," said Gomez. "I got monetary donations and then Mugs Coffee Roasters in East Los Angeles also offered for me to post up there. So, I was able also to have a drop-off, which was very successful."

This isn't the first time Gomez has helped out the shelter. She's started about eight years ago with food donations and back-to-school supplies, too.

"This is near and dear to my heart because I know the struggles of being raised by a single parent who works as hard to come by. Money is hard to come by," said Gomez. "I was also a single parent myself and I know the struggle of making ends meet."

A few more trips to the shelter and Gomez will be done dropping off all of the food she gathered.

"If you're looking into somewhere to help, Comunidad Cesar Chavez in Boyle Heights can definitely use all the help you can give," said Gomez.

Instagram: @proyectohappyhearts