Hollywood Food Coalition

We were delighted to have Fig Tree Cafe’s chef and co-owner, Dashiell Nathanson, join Chef Collin Leaver at the Community Dinner this month for another installment of our Culinary Collaborations initiative, with support from Cedars-Sinai. A bon vivant in spirit and a maker at heart, Dashiell’s obsession with craft and tradition has led him around the world with long stints in East Asia, South America, and Europe. His focus on food and culture drove him back to cooking in top kitchens across the U.S. As one of the owners of Fig Tree Café in Venice Beach, after a chapter in architecture and fragrance, he now spends his time building the culture of the cafe through its food, drink, and experience, with future plans to grow the Venice dining scene with new projects.    Tapping into the many cuisines experienced through his travels, Chef Dashiell worked with Chef Collin to create a full menu for our guests filled with flavors from Central and South America. To start, he prepared a flavorful oven-roasted Achiote and tangerine chicken, accompanied by Colombian frijolada, a comforting, filling, and hearty bean dish. Achiote is a Central American shrub that yields a seed with an incredible flavor. Around South and Central America, as well as Mexico, cooks use Achiote to add delicious nuance to dishes.     Since it’s summer, he topped it all off with a fresh combination of tomatoes and melon salad, dressed with a lemon, white balsamic, oil and mint dressing. Simple and refreshing!  We invite you to try his recipes which Chef Dashiell and Chef Collin created using rescued ingredients from our Community Exchange! 

We are incredibly grateful to Hanesbrands Inc. for another generous donation! Our guests truly appreciate the comfort of new, soft socks. Thank you for helping us serve our community in ways that go beyond food! #HanesForGood #HanesSockDrive

Thank you to our Board of Directors for their active participation and invaluable contributions during our annual retreat! It's an honor to have such a passionate and dedicated group leading the way toward our future!

Thank you, The Wonderful Company, we are so grateful for your continued partnership!

Please join us for the 3rd Annual HoFoCo Show!   On June 24th, David Hoffman will lead a group of expert improvisers in a special performance you won't want to miss. Bring your friends for an evening of non-stop laughter, followed by an after-party at The Groundlings Theater where you can mingle with the cast over food and drinks.   Thank you to our Presenting Sponsors, David Hoffman and Jaime Kowal, our Grand Sponsors Butterfly Equity Foundation, and Victoria Lautman, our Community Sponsors Don Bacigalupi and Dan Fader, Lazy Acres Natural Market, Paramount Pictures, San Pellegrino US, Self-Help Credit Union, and Waymo.   SEATS ARE LIMITED, GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!   Can't make it to the show but still want to support HoFoCo? Check out our AMAZING auction items https://lnkd.in/gZ4rRe-T - Ever wanted to test your improv skills? Join David Hoffman and Andrew Friedman as your classmates for an unforgettable improv session! - Love hiking? Will Forte will take you on a tour of his favorite Los Angeles trail, followed by breakfast together! - Prefer cocktails, dinner, and laughs? Mindy Sterling will treat you to a special evening at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel by the beach in Santa Monica! - And if that wasn't enough, you could be the lucky HoFoCo Show guest to get pictures and autographs with commercial icons Stephanie Courtney (Progressive’s Flo) and David Hoffman (Liberty Mutual’s Doug) before the show! - JUST ADDED! Exclusive VIP package! Golden ticket for a CINESPIA screening of your choice at Hollywood Forever Cemetery with mat of 4 four seats in VIP/Sponsor/Celebrity section. Unique opportunity not available to the public.  The silent auction is now open! Place your bids and good luck! https://lnkd.in/gbJuR5w6

We’re thrilled to announce that the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative (NSI) has awarded Hollywood Food Coalition, Polo’s Pantry, Farm2People (F2P), and API Forward Movement (APIFM) critical support through their NSI Exploratory Grant! The NSI exploratory grant is designed for organizations ready to move into structured discussions aimed at developing a strategic partnership. We are so excited to dive into conversations around capacity building and resource sharing facilitated by Remy De La Peza with morena strategies. Collectively, our organizations already serve a multitude of distinct communities throughout LA. Together, we can create even more impact and work toward building a more food-secure LA County. The NSI Exploratory Grant has been made possible thanks to the support of The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Ahmanson Foundation, The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation, and Cedars-Sinai, among others. More information on their work and a full list of initiative funders can be found at nsifund.org.

Thank you for your great work, Arnali! And many thanks to all the panelists and to WasteExpo!

Congratulations to our partners at Food Forward Inc. who, this month, celebrated 15 years of serving the community. Since the inception of the Community Exchange program, Food Forward has been one of our major donors of high-quality produce. Thanks to our Exchange team, we are able to break down large pallets of donated products from Food Forward and ensure that fresh and healthy produce is distributed to our recipients in the quantities they need, preventing any waste. Learn more about our continued partnership and how the donations we receive get distributed among our network of over 160 small-size non-profits across Los Angeles County. https://lnkd.in/gmbUXsD5

We are excited to announce that we received a $25,000 grant from State Farm to support our Community Exchange program. “We are grateful to State Farm for their continued support of our work and, more specifically, of our food rescue and distribution efforts within Los Angeles County,” said Arnali Ray, LMFT, Executive Director. “With last year’s grant from State Farm, which helped us purchase a new refrigerated truck, we increased the amount of food rescued by 17%, totaling 2,580,000 pounds. Over 2.2 million pounds were shared with our network of over 160 non-profit recipients, with the remaining pounds of food going to our Community Dinner program, which has served a nightly multi-course meal to our neighbors facing food insecurity since 1987.” Thank you, State Farm!

Thank you, ABC7 Los Angeles, for highlighting our community's efforts over the past four years! Hollywood Food Coalition, in partnership with Hang Out Do Good, has distributed nearly 700,000 lunch bags on Sundays thanks to the support of hundreds of volunteers. Endless thanks to everyone who has contributed their time, resources, and creativity, to help feed Angelenos facing food insecurity! https://lnkd.in/gVp4P_gm