Hollywood Bowl hosts drive-thru food distribution for 3,000 families
Although Los Angeles has been taking steps to reopen, the need for nutritious food is still surging.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Hollywood Bowl has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the iconic amphitheatre is still being used to serve the community. Thousands of families lined up in the venue's parking lot to receive donated food items -- a necessity amid COVID-19.
During their June 17 distribution, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank provided nearly 3,000 families with shelf-stable boxes, protein kits and fresh produce. Cars lined up in separate lanes and boxes of food were placed in their trunks, so people would not have to leave their vehicles.
"The fact that there are so many people willing to help out in a situation like this [by donating] for others is just an amazing thing," said Pamela Boudrot, one of the many people lined up to receive food boxes.
Boudrot worked in tourism prior to the coronavirus outbreak and expects to be out of work for the foreseeable future, even though the city is taking steps to reopen.
"A food budget -- you'd want to make it stretch in a time like this. I use everything up in my house...I don't throw a single vegetable away," Boudrot said. "Something like this really helps."
According to the Food Bank, they currently are serving nearly 500,000 people each month, compared to the 300,000 they were providing with nutritious food prior to the coronavirus outbreak.
While Boudrot has volunteered with the Food Bank in the past, this is the first time she is on the receiving end of their donations and is incredibly grateful for the resources she's received amid COVID-19.
"I have never taken a handout until now," Boudrot said. "I think a lot of people are experiencing that, maybe for the first time, through the pandemic."
