Starting at 1pm with pre-walk festivities, the Westside Food Bank’s Hunger Walk returns Sunday for its 34th year, raising awareness for the ongoing hunger crisis in Los Angeles County. The 5K "course" along the Santa Monica beach begins and ends at Ocean View Park, where locals can take part in pre and post-walk activities.
The nonprofit has raised $62,800 of its $150,000 event fundraising goal as of October 30, with every $5 providing 20 meals for food insecure residents. Now going over three decades strong, Westside Food Bank President and CEO Genevieve Riutort is grateful for the signature event’s continued support.
"It’s really wonderful, I love how much this event brings the community together," Riutort said. "We get people who come year after year, as well as people who [will] come for the very first time this year. We’re expecting a record turnout … and it just means so much that people want to come back and do this event."
She added that the organization has ramped up its pre-walk festivities this year, including giving out free swag bags, having a family fun zone, and including both a raffle and silent auction with a number of prizes. The silent auction in particular will be for two hotel staycation packages provided by Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows and The Culver Hotel.
The pre-walk will be hosted by Good Day LA anchor Brooke Thomas, while the post-walk "Beach Bash After-Party" is a partnership with sponsor Perry’s Cafe, who will be serving hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie and salad options for those looking for a meal on the beach.
Riutort stated that because of the nature of the food bank, the free family-friendly walk was a better option than a traditional gala setting with a fancy meal, which "didn’t seem to be in alignment" with the food bank’s goals.
"We have families that have grown up with the bank, and so we wanted our signature event to be something that everybody could attend, whether they are someone who receives food at one of our member agencies or someone who can write a big check and wants to bring their kids along," Riutort said. "We just wanted this event to be accessible to the entire community."
Accessibility is a core tenant of the food bank, which serves 72,000 households around the Westside and provided over 4.1 million meals during the 2022-23 fiscal year. Events like the Hunger Walk come at a crucial time for the nonprofit, with Riutort stating that food insecurity is "still at an all-time high in Los Angeles County," especially with COVID-19 pandemic-era supports now nonexistent.
"We’re trying to cope with much more demand, both at our direct service pantries and at our member agencies, and we have fewer resources to do that with, because our funding is also down compared to during COVID," she added. "So our operations, thankfully, have grown, we more than doubled in just about every way, but we’re struggling to keep up."
On top of growing operations in its coverage area, the food bank recently partnered with RAND Corporation for a study on "the landscape of food insecurity" in Los Angeles County, with the main takeaway being that the organization may have to expand to the south and east to tackle more underserved areas.
Along with the Hunger Walk, the food bank will be a part of two key December local events. The Santa Monica Pub Crawl returns on December 14, with over 20 local restaurants and bars participating in a fundraiser. The next day, the food bank will partner with the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows for its annual "Meet Me Under the Fig Tree" event.
Tickets for the Beach Bash After-Party after Sunday’s walk are $48. To purchase or get more information on the walk, visit wsfb.org.
thomas@smdp.com
