Even before the sun rose, a line of cars began forming along Baldwin Park Boulevard, where drivers sat patiently waiting for their chance to receive free groceries when the delivery program began several hours later.
His sense of urgency was essential. According to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, volunteers began distributing supplies at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and by 11:30 all 2,000 boxes were gone.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic continued on the surrounding roads, and large numbers of people were turned away empty-handed.
“To know that people are lining up as early as 5 in the morning because this is so important to them tells me the need is great,” said L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, “and it’s unfortunate that we don’t have enough for everybody.”
Solis’ office organized Wednesday’s drive-thru food distribution as part of a partnership launched last month with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to address growing food insecurity in his district.
Although food insecurity is a long-standing problem in LA County, the issue has taken on new urgency as inflation continues to rise across the country.
On Tuesday, the US government announced that inflation reached a three-year high in April as the war on Iran raised energy costs.
According to the American Automobile Association, gas prices have increased by more than $1.50 across the US in just two months, reaching a national average of $4.50 per gallon and an average of $6.15 per gallon in California. Grocery prices rose 0.7% in April Biggest jump in a month Over nearly four years, the cost of meat, dairy and other products has seen a significant rise, according to data from Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest surge in prices is putting additional pressure on the already strained budgets of many households — especially working-class families, seniors dependent on Social Security and people living on disability payments, said Michael Flood, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“It feels like the pot is constantly boiling and slowly simmering,” Flood said.
She said the sudden loss of jobs and income during the pandemic thrust food insecurity into the spotlight in 2020, and there has been limited relief since then as a period of post-pandemic inflation has hit consumer price records across the country.
In January 2025, the food bank saw a surge in demand when thousands of Angelenos were displaced by wildfires. The Trump administration then took a crackdown on immigration, disrupting the income of many families and businesses serving the immigrant community.
Then, in the last quarter of the year, the government shutdown caused delays in distribution of federal food aid, increasing demand for help putting groceries on the table.
One in four households in LA County reported struggling to afford enough food in 2025, according to one Study from USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
“We were expecting demand to be down a little bit in 2026 because 2025 was an incredible year with a lot of things happening, but we’re not seeing that,” Flood said. “We see into 2026 that demand is still very strong.”
This need was clearly demonstrated in Wednesday’s food distribution program. Solis spoke to several people attending the giveaway and said some people are choosing between keeping gas in their car and food on their table.
“Another woman I talked to told me it was going to be very helpful, because her husband was recently detained by ICE and she was her only support person,” Solis said. “She didn’t have a job, and was helping support her three young children.
He added, “Hearing the words and stories of these family members is heartbreaking.”
His office has allocated $1 million in discretionary funds to host four large drive-thru food distribution events for the food bank as well as some smaller gifts. The next drive-thru will be held May 29 at Montebello Golf Course from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
