SoCal food distribution event draws long lines, some turned away after food runs out

BALDWIN PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- A drive-through food distribution event drew lines of cars that wrapped around the block in Baldwin Park Wednesday, but not everybody was able to get food.

The event, hosted by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, was supposed to run until noon, but food ran out about half an hour before that. Organizers had to turn away an unknown number of people after giving away food to some 2,000 families.

AIR7 was over the scene where countless cars lined up bumper to bumper to get boxes of protein, vegetables and also non-perishable food items. Some people said they waited at least an hour.

Supervisor Solis said, with food prices rising and federal support shifting, such events are essential for those who are food insecure or struggling with employment.

"It's really bad. That's why we're here. Prices are going sky-high. Everything is really pricey... so it makes it a little bit hard," Baldwin Park resident Jose Torres told Eyewitness News.

Although some were turned away, more food distributions are planned in Montebello and South El Monte in the coming weeks.

U.S. wholesale inflation rises

Producer prices rose 6% from a year earlier, the highest point in more than three years, as the Iran war pushes up energy prices and intensifies pressure on companies to pass along their rising costs to consumers.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index - which tracks inflation before it hits consumers - shot up 1.4% in April, the biggest monthly gain in more than four years.

Energy prices climbed 7.8% from March to April and 22.7% from a year earlier. Gasoline soared 15.6% from March and diesel, the dominant fuel used in shipping, jumped 12.6%.

Gasoline prices, which have already become painful for many Americans, rose again overnight to a national average of $4.51 per gallon, according to motor club AAA.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core producer prices rose 1% from March and 5.2% from April 2025.

All of the numbers released Wednesday caught economists off guard and altered the dynamic at the U.S. Federal Reserve and its fight against inflation.

Prices are rising at a time when Americans are already frustrated by the high cost of living. Affordability is likely to be a key issue when voters go to the polls Nov. 3 to determine whether President Donald Trump's Republican Party maintains control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.