Food For Kids

How can any child concentrate on education when they are hungry?

How You Can Help | Pantry Partners | Thank You Notes | Real-life Narratives and News Stories | Food For Kids Volunteers-in-Action

Hunger can have dramatic effects on educational progress and self-esteem, but poverty causes many students to arrive at school Monday morning without proper nourishment. While students eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal Program through Title One receive breakfast and lunch during the week, many families are not able to feed their children adequately on the weekends.

That’s where Food For Kids comes in. We provide non-perishable food to Title One-eligible elementary school students in Carson, Compton, Long Beach, San Pedro, Torrance and Wilmington schools. Every Friday, volunteers assemble and deliver bags filled with two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners. The students also receive one of five nutrition flyers provided by Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance and the USDA along with the food for their family to consume over the weekend. Click here to read real-life narratives and news stories about the Food For Kids program and the families it serves.

Food For Kids thank you note — Click here for more examples of thank you notes from
the children and their families.

How You Can Help

Make a Monetary Donation

Make an immediate impact on a family by donating toward the cost of a bag of food (each bag costs approximately $26), or become a member of Pantry Partners for an annual donation of $50 or more!

Click here to donate and put Food For Kids in the notes section

Click here to learn more about Pantry Partners.

Make a Food Donation

Click here to review our Non-Perishable Food Shopping List. You can drop donations off at our Main Office in Torrance Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

NEW DROP-OFF LOCATION! You can also bring donations to our booth at the Wilson Park Farmer's Market twice a month (one Tuesday and one Saturday, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. - see the calendar of upcoming events on the homepage for specific dates).

Please note: We only accept food that has not passed its expiration date.

We currently need breakfast items such as cereal, oatmeal and granola bars the most! (Updated 3/22/18)

Volunteer

We are always looking community members with the following skills to support the Food For Kids program:

Food wrangler
Brain-stormer and leader
Volunteer herder

Donation seeker
Party planner
Go-fer and task hole-filler

Sponsor strong-armer
Team-building event planner
Roster and member coordinator

Support a Food Drive

There is a food drive for every type of organization. For a range of fun and productive ideas, read our Food Drive Tips and Tricks.

You are welcome to come meet with us and see the food pantry first-hand or we can speak to your group. For more information and other ways you can help, email Trisha Smith, Volunteer Services Manager, at trisha@volcenter.org or (310) 212-5009.

What you do makes a difference to real children, and it is deeply appreciated by the children and their families.