Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles–based nonprofit that provides free, medically tailored meals to residents with serious illnesses, has begun distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to clients who recently lost federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The initiative, announced Friday by Executive Director Richard Ayoub on Instagram, comes in response to reductions in SNAP benefits and ongoing disruptions tied to the federal government shutdown. Ayoub said the organization began delivering the gift cards to affected clients the same day and plans to continue through the weekend.
“Because they lost those benefits on Saturday, we started delivering today and will continue through the weekend,” Ayoub said. “The response has been overwhelming just a few hours after we started.”
Ayoub shared a message from one client, identified only as Jane from Sawtelle, who thanked the nonprofit for its support. She described the meals she receives as healthier than any she has had before and said the grocery card was an unexpected lifeline. According to Ayoub, she also appreciated the personal letter that accompanied the gift card, calling it “very meaningful” and saying the organization had “lifted a weary spirit.”
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
Richard Ayoub is the executive director of Project Angel Food, overseeing the nonprofit’s efforts to provide meals and emergency support to Los Angeles County residents living with serious illnesses. (PAF)
Project Angel Food is distributing $100 Ralphs grocery gift cards to Los Angeles County clients affected by recent SNAP benefit cuts. (PAF)
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The grocery card effort is the latest in Project Angel Food’s long history of responding to food insecurity across Los Angeles County. Founded in 1989 by Marianne Williamson as an outreach program of the Los Angeles Center for Living, the organization was originally created to deliver meals to people living with HIV/AIDS. It has since expanded to serve men, women and children living with a range of illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
Today, Project Angel Food delivers more than 1.5 million meals each year and has served over 18 million meals since its inception, according to its website. The organization relies on a network of about 4,700 volunteers and is funded through a mix of individual donations, corporate and foundation grants, government support and special events.
Deliveries are made exclusively within Los Angeles County. Residents who are unable to prepare their own meals due to illness can apply for the program through the nonprofit’s client services hotline at 323-845-1810. Those interested in volunteering can contact the organization’s volunteer department at 323-845-1816 or visit angelfood.org.
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