FeedCulver Celebrates First Year And Nearly 40K Meals Provided

CULVER CITY, CA — As the pandemic heightened in 2020, Culver City saw the increase in food insecurity and pressures mounting on local businesses to stay open. That's when a team of leaders came up with a way to help solve the problem.

FeedCulver launched as a bold, innovative plan to provide a lifeline for both food-insecure residents and keep local restaurants running. The organization started purchasing meals from struggling restaurants and developing an infrastructure to deliver those meals to families adversely impacted by the pandemic.

Friday marks one year since the first meal was served, and the effort is growing stronger than ever – largely because the need is as great as ever.

“When we began, there were people who lost their jobs and truly didn’t know where their next meal was coming, and at the same time, our restaurants were struggling to stay afloat,” said Culver City Councilman Göran Eriksson, who was one of the organization’s co-founders.

“Unfortunately, we are still feeling the devastating impacts of the pandemic on local families and businesses, but I am proud to say that FeedCulver continues to raise money from the community and local businesses to buy and deliver those desperately needed meals,” Eriksson said.

Almost 40,000 meals, approximately 160 hot meals per day, have been delivered to struggling Culver City residents and families. More than 100 volunteers have joined FeedCulver and the number of partners has also increased. The City of Culver City, the city’s Downtown Business Association, Culver City Chamber of Commerce and the Culver City Exchange Club have all joined the efforts to grow the operation.

Grace Lutheran Church’s long-established Grace Diner Food Bank serves as the distribution point for families who arrive every day, no questions asked, to get the meals they need.

So far, FeedCulver has helped support 23 area restaurants, including Akasha, Harajuku Taproom, Mega Pizza Grille, Auld Fella, Quicksand, Taproom Pizza Co., Chica’s Tacos, Meet in Paris, Novecento Pasta & Grill, Pasta Sisters, EK Valley, Ugo, George Petrelli Steak House and more.

Funding is provided by donations, small businesses and major donations from companies and organizations in the city, including Amazon Studios, The Culver Studios, Cedars-Sinai, Culver City Exchange Club, Sony Pictures and the Culver City Rotary Community Foundation.

“This has absolutely been an example of neighbors helping neighbors during one of the most difficult times in recent memory,” Eric Sims of the Downtown Business Association said. “And the best part is that we are doing more than just feeding the people who need it. We are helping to maintain hospitality jobs that might have otherwise gone away as restaurants closed. We are helping the small businesses in our community that may otherwise have gone out of business. And we are discovering, like never before, that ours is a close-knit community filled with people who care about their neighbors.”

“In many ways, this is an extension of the work we have been doing for many years at Grace Diner,” said Lisa Skelley, manager of the program. “But what makes it special is how many people have stepped up to volunteer, to donate, to support what we are doing with FeedCulver. It has been a very special experience.”

Eriksson said FeedCulver continues to seek donations, partnerships and volunteers at its website: www.feedculver.org.

“There will always be people who need our help, and we hope we can continue to be there for them throughout the pandemic and beyond,” Eriksson said.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.