Food for Thought: Monthly free produce distribution in Inglewood

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- "They may not have the money for it, but you can come here and get what you need and it's great because there's a lot of children who don't have fruits and vegetables," Inglewood resident, Carlene Wyse said about the Food for Thought pop-up produce distribution.

The Food for Thought Produce Pick-up event in Inglewood happens every third Friday at Morningside High School during the school year. Sarah Chang, the Health Equity Programs Director for the Social Justice Learning Institute said community members take home more than just the produce.

"We make sure at each distribution we have a cooking demonstration happening. So folks go home with a bag of produce," Chang said. "They go home with at least one if not more recipes to utilize the produce."

Inglewood community member Erica Dent brought the idea of a produce give-away to the Social Justice Learning Institute or SJLI. Erica wanted kids to be able to take food home with them.

"A lot of people depend on school food for their multiple meals during a day," Chang said. "And so having that extra boost for the weekend was really powerful and helpful for folks."

The SJLI partnered with Food Forward, a food rescuing organization, to bring Erica's vision to life.

"We're really here to provide a resource for local Inglewood residents and Lennox and South LA residents to have access to more fresh fruits and vegetables," Chang said.

"It is just a blessing to all of us to be able to get the first fruits and vegetables from the institute," Inglewood resident, Mary Alice Phillips said.

The Social Justice Learning Institute has handed out over 130,000 pounds of produce since 2017. If you're a community member you can come line up and get your choice of produce or if you're a student at Morningside High School, you can pick up a pre-filled bag.

"Everything that doesn't get eaten gets composted. So, everything is a closed loop and really is working to address food security issues in our community through reducing food waste," Chang said.

Distribution starts at 3 p.m. but you can come at 2:30 p.m. to see the cooking demonstration.

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