With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) is teaming up to help the West Los Angeles Community Police Station collect nonperishable food items for the SOVA Food Bank’s annual effort to help feed people in the region with empty bellies.
SOVA is a nonsectarian program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles; the word SOVA is taken from the Hebrew word “savah” which means to eat or drink and be satisfied, or satiated.
As of Monday, Nov. 11, the LAPD is asking for help in distributing food bags and collection bins for the “Grand Weigh In” on Nov. 23 at the West L.A. station.
The Brentwood community plans to be actively participating in the food drive this year. Michelle Bisnoff, BCC chair of the Outreach Committee, commented on Brentwood’s specific role in the food drive and how the council was motivated to first join the cause.
“This is the first year that BCC has proactively sought locations for the food drive bins within Brentwood,” Bisnoff said. “In fact, we received feedback from a community survey about what issues are important to our residents and fighting hunger is one of them.”
In order to help facilitate, BCC is not only searching for locations to place the collection bins, but also picking up the food on the date of the event and dropping the donations off at the West LAPD collection site.
This collaboration between the BCC, food/resource program SOVA, and the West LAPD was in some sense to be expected, keeping in mind the respectful relationship among the entities as well as the common goal of combating the issue of hunger.
Bisnoff explained the connection that BCC shares with the West LAPD, as Brentwood is one of the several neighborhoods served by the police department.
“The BCC is a longtime supporter of the West LAPD,” Bisnoff said. “As a community council, we are deeply grateful for the excellent leadership of West LAPD Evangelyn Nathan and our lead officers, Maria Gray and Chris Ragsdale.”
Bisnoff also elaborated on other West LAPD-related outreach activities and projects that the BCC has under its wings, which was telling of why and how the council was naturally led to partake in the food drive.
“We have a BCC member on our local Community Police Advisory Board, in addition to providing volunteer hours and community outreach for their policing efforts, and strategic assistance for their fundraising goals, which support the West LAPD after-school Cadet program and purchase materials needed in the station house,” Bisnoff said.
The beneficiary of the food collection, SOVA, provides local families and individuals with hunger-related resources, such as free groceries, case management, and counseling, in order to assist them in regaining self-sufficiency.
The Food Drive’s “Grand Weigh In” on Nov. 23 is slated to be an entertaining affair featuring refreshments, music, and photo opportunities from 10 am to 3 pm. The event will end with the final weight of food collected being announced.
Several plaques will be awarded to the top weigh-in finalists with every team receiving a certificate of appreciation. Greek letter organizations will also receive a letter addressed to their national organization recognizing their efforts.
Individuals are also being encouraged to come and enjoy the weigh in with organizers asking people to sign up, so they can provide participants with event information and a certificate.
All nonperishable items are welcome, including: canned meats, canned fruits, canned veggies, peanut butter, canned meals, boxed meals, canned beans, pasta, rice, cereal, and personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, and deodorant.
The food drive collection site will be at the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Ave.
For more information visit wlafooddrive.com, jfsla.org, and brentwoodcommunitycouncil.org.
