Volunteers of the Week

Food on Foot means helping people out of desperate situations, giving them hope and confidence, and getting them out of taxpayer supported programs and becoming tax payers themselves. It's not a hand-out, it's a helping hand. Each person must make the decision to change their life for themselves. It's nice to know that FoF is there to help when they make the decision to improve their lives!

On my first visit, there were several people that weren't in great shape but were clearly trying to help themselves. A few weeks later, it was amazing to see the change in them. Some had graduated and others were well on their way. What a great organization to be a part of! We offer hope and a path out of not so good situations.

-R. Boyd

A BIG thank you to Joe Patterson, friends and family for honoring the memory of Erica Patterson on Mother's Day at our Hollywood serving.

A BIG thank you to Bob Istwan and everyone from Motive Energy for sponsoring our May 5 serving in Hollywood.

Food on Foot is a way to help end the poverty in our city, and for me to realize that I am very lucky to have food and shelter, that I have to make sure to help others get the same. It makes me really appreciate what I have, instead of focusing on what I don't have.

I like how you work to get people self sufficient on an individual level, which not only is less wasteful, but it instills a sense of pride that they can control when their next meal is coming, or what they do with their life. Once we restore their sense of pride, we're a good way there.

The first time I volunteered, when I gave a chicken dinner to a woman who looked like she could be any one of us volunteering, she thanked me in the most sincere way. Since then, I can't forget how much doing that meant to her, and also how if someone dressed well needed help finding food, then how many others are starving on the streets without us knowing it?

-Ben

A Big thank you to the congregation at Tikvat Jacob for sponsoring the Sunday April 21 serving in Hollywood.

I support anything and everything that works to alleviate poverty and eliminate the gaping class divisions, and I think Food on Foot does a great job of this.

I like the structure and the encouragement, instilling pride and self-esteem in people who, unfortunately, have all too often been overlooked by society.

The Christmas event was a special one, with a lovely awards ceremony honoring recent graduates of the program.

-April

A BIG thank you to FOF board member Elaine Richards, and friends and family, for sponsoring our Sunday serving with friends to celebrate her birthday!

FOF is our opportunity to work with an organization that doesn't just hand out free food but also offers the means to help those who want to help themselves.

What do we like most about FOF? The awards ceremony at the end of each Sunday serving. It's the efforts of the individuals for the Work for Food program. It's seeing their transformation from someone who once doubted themselves to then, becoming confident and empowered. It's the stories of the graduates. It's meeting people in our community and feeling that we can contribute to the betterment of our society.

We attended the Christmas service this year. Being able to stand next to individuals and families while waiting in line was a special experience. We both were able to converse with each person and get to know them a little more. One family we met was a woman and her daughter. She just lost her job as a housekeeper and around the time when her mother got sick and her brother just passed away just before the holidays. She had been waiting in line since 7 am that morning. With no job, and 2 kids to feed, waiting in line at FOF was her only option for a decent Christmas meal.

At first, she was hesitant to speak to me but she slowly opened up when I started to tell her about my grandmother whose health started to deteriorate after my grandfather's passing. We talked about our families, the holidays, our different backgrounds. We parted ways with a hug and a smile on both our faces. That's the great thing about FOF, the volunteers may give their time and financial help but really, what we are getting back in return is much more rewarding, and the memories from the Sunday services are invaluable.

-Selina and Jeff

A big Thank You to Kevin Lyman and Paul Kersh for sponsoring our Sunday March 24 serving in Hollywood.

Food on Foot gives me the chance to "get out of my own way," to stop worrying about the minutia of day to day life and just GIVE BACK. I'm reminded, I am very lucky to have a roof over my head, and food in the fridge. Everything else is minor.

I like that Food on Foot doesn't just feed the hungry, it helps people to help themselves. I think that is the best gift you can give.

During the sharing of the Green Shirt's "random acts of kindness" one of the women said she gave her shoes to another homeless person. The next gentleman gave bus tokens to a woman who needed to go to work. That woman was the one who gave her shoes away. I was really touched that this woman couldn't even buy bus tokens but gave a pair of shoes to someone who was even more in need than she.

-Carolyn

Sunday March 10 we celebrated the life of our former Chairman Michael Neuhoff with his family and friends. Michael was a huge supporter of our program and passed away in November at the young age of 59.

A big thank you to everyone at Paradigm for sponsoring the Sunday March 3 serving in Hollywood.

Food on Foot is a positive change in the world by helping those less fortunate. I like the level of dedication, commitment and success of the program. It felt great knowing that my time and effort to volunteer fed hundreds of homeless on the Thanksgiving holiday.

A Big thank you to Andrew Left for sponsoring the Sunday February 10 serving in Hollywood.

Food on Foot means helping others by making them help themselves. I really appreciated the hard work and dedication that is expected from the people who want to join the program. It was more than a handout. The Thanksgiving day serving was such an overall well organized empowering event that has the potential to spread further than the streets of LA.

Food on Foot represents to me, a place where people can pull themselves back up from a place of darkness and give them hope. I loved the "community" feel that was throughout the day and the feeling of giving to others. The most moving part of this day was how even though, for some, this was the lowest part of their life, they still smiled and said god bless and were happy to see us there.

-Heidi

Food on Foot means working together to create a better society.What I like the most about Food on Foot is the way the program is structured and that way resources are used to reward results and work effort, not for someone looking for a handout. My experience was an organized, efficient meal distribution on Thanksgiving Day. The people I volunteered with were great and the vibe was strong.

-Chaz

Food on Foot gives hope to those society has already given up on – the nameless, the forgotten, the lost, the broken. Food on Foot treats each person with dignity and compassion – besides giving them a meal. To hear the other volunteers walk alongside and discuss the alternative FOF provides was uplifting – as a seed is planted that there is a way out for those courageous to take the first steps. FOF helps those who are ready to build themselves.

Food on Foot is a better way of reaching out to those less fortunate and finding more substance and meaning in my life in the process. I like how the process gives dignity and respect to all involved.
A memorable experience from the serving was when I was passing out carrots. A gentleman who did not have good teeth to accept the offering said "No, thank you, but I will take that Thanksgiving greeting with a hug."