Hundreds in need line up to receive help at drive-thru food pantry in Inglewood amid coronavirus crisis
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Hundreds of people struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic lined up Friday to get groceries at a drive-thru pantry at the Forum in Inglewood.
Area resident Lekh Gurug waited in line for two hours to get food.
"We're looking for the fresh food," he said. "I hope it will help with our family."
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Gerung hasn't worked since March 17. He had been employed as a cook at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He's already filed for unemployment.
"That's why it's a really hard time for everyone," he said.
This is exactly why Unite Here Local 11, a hospitality workers union, decided to hold this food distribution on Good Friday.
Cars lined up around the Forum hours before the giveaway began.
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"We are expecting potentially 5,000 cars, we have four lanes. It's going to be drive-thru pickup. People have been here since 6, 6:30 in the morning," said Maria Hernandez with Unite Here Local 11.
Due to that expected need, Unite Here Local 11 partnered with the city of Inglewood, the Forum and the L.A. Regional Food Bank among other groups.
"It's really tough to see, because these are people with families and they don't know where the next meal is going to come from. So having the support of their union, the support of the regional food bank, really, really means a lot," Hernandez said.
Gurug is one of those families who said the food from this pantry will help feed his wife and two children. He emphasized that picking the food up at this drive-thru event was absolutely necessary for his family.
