Just off of Figueroa Street in Highland Park sits The Offbeat. On any night from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., music will be playing and drinks will be pouring. But on weekend mornings, it’s a different story. The bar transforms into one community member’s solution to people’s hunger.

The Offbeat bar in Highland Park’s mural on its back wall in Los Angeles, Calif. (Sara Wolf)

Vanny Arias is not only the owner of The Offbeat, but also a community activist. Last year, she saw a need within her community and decided to combine her two worlds. It was then that she created Northeast Los Angeles (NELA) Food Distribution, which she runs out of her bar.

“We’re out here for one purpose and that’s to help people, to help our community,” Arias said.

Every week, dozens of volunteers prepare food packages and deliver them to almost 500 people across 12 different zip codes. Each household receives a mix of canned goods, fresh produce and bread, when available. Each week’s delivery will vary depending on the food available, but Arias always finds a way to ensure that nobody goes hungry.

“When you take that food to people’s doorsteps, their face, like, we’re the light in their darkness right now,” Arias said. “They hold on to hope with us, and that’s how we wanna continue showing up.”

It’s estimated that one out of four residents of Los Angeles County experiences food insecurity. This problem is compounded by recent gentrification in Northeast LA.

Maude Reyes, a CSUN student, said the problems her community faces inspire her to get involved.

“We have over the years been affected by a lot of gentrification and displacement in the community,” Reyes said. “Not only displacement from gentrification, but displacement with the current political climate and the removal of some community members. I personally think that not being able to feed your family, that’s violence, too.”

Arias and Reyes agree that they want to help their community in any way that they can. It is this drive that inspires them to get out of bed on weekend mornings and prepare groceries for affected families.

Originally, Arias began by just feeding a few families once she realized she wanted to do something. She brought cardboard signs to the streets and flagged down cars, seeking food donations for a few families she knew. Ultimately, this only grew, leading her to supply hundreds of community members with what they need to survive. She continues to use word-of-mouth and social media in search of more people who may need help.

But as Arias looks for more people to assist, she also seeks more assistance herself.

“Right now, our cupboards are bare,” Arias said.

In fact, during the last few weeks of April, Arias had to pay out of pocket for as much as 50% of the food.

A volunteer places a hand-packed produce bag on a tarp to be gathered with other food products and delivered to families across Los Angeles, Calif. (Sara Wolf)

Once a month, NELA receives a delivery of 75 bags of food from District 1, which are immediately sorted and then delivered to families by volunteers that same day. In the last week of April, Arias was awaiting her typical delivery when she received word that there was an error with it, leading her and Reyes to rush to pick up the bags from Downtown. The hundreds of bags were still sorted back at The Offbeat and delivered by 3 p.m. that day.

For the other three deliveries across the month, however, Arias has to find other ways to gather resources. She finds success calling on other community members for help, but is surprised that District 14, which serves Highland Park, has not helped her yet. She said she has reached out multiple times in the last year, but that it “falls on deaf ears.”

“We hope that they find it in their hearts and try to help us because we are here actively working,” Arias said. “We are grassroots. I spent my own tax money, and I’m putting it into feeding people.”

Arias believes it shouldn’t be difficult for the district to find the money within its system, and she is skeptical as to why they have not helped her more.

Reyes spoke to the matter, saying, “You can’t make people care, but I think the world would be a whole lot better if people did care about one another.”

As for the people who do show up each week, all agree that it’s a mutually beneficial experience.

“We’re just neighbors helping neighbors,” said Reyes. “When you’re a part of something like this, it makes you feel loved and supported. I wish everyone could experience this, honestly.”

Two other volunteers, Emma McMahan and Freddie Campbell, encouraged others to get involved and speak about how valuable it has been for them.

Vanny Arias loads her truck with food donated to her charity, NELA, from District 1 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Sara Wolf)

“You can’t really go wrong with it,” Campbell said. “There’s nothing wrong with feeding people, ever.”

McMahan added that she noticed “a lot of scary stuff going on,” which led her to look for a way to get involved in her community.

“You have to transform that anxious energy,” McMahan said. “If it stays in a ball in your chest, it’s just going to rot. It has to go somewhere, or it’s gonna poison you.”

Arias wants to assure people, especially younger folk, that there are easy ways to dip a toe in the water of volunteering. She said it doesn’t take a special education or lots of money – all it takes is a want to help.

“Just get up and find your closest place that helps the community around you and just do it,” Arias said. “It’s so gratifying, it’s so nice. You meet amazing people from all walks of life.”

Those wanting to get involved with Arias’ mission can visit her social media, where they can donate, volunteer or even just help to share her mission.