By BRADLEY BERMONT | bbermont@scng.com | Pasadena Star-News
The kitchen at Pasadena’s Union Station Homeless Services has never been a quiet place, even before the coronavirus outbreak kicked it into high gear.
The eight-burner stove in the nonprofit’s sole commercial kitchen was already putting out 2,000 meals every week, feeding residents of its bridge housing program.
Now, in the age of coronavirus, the number of meals has more than doubled to 5,000. And they’re getting delivered straight to their client’s doorsteps with refrigerated trucks provided by their partner, the Patina Restaurant Group.
That’s according to Amanda Green, director of operations for the organization, who said deliveries began in earnest on Friday, April 3, when they brought 3,000 meals to 250 people living in permanent supportive housing at Pasadena’s Centennial Place.
That’s four days of three square meals for each client, delivered in two bags filled with to-go boxes of breakfast burritos, turkey wraps and roast beef sandwiches, to name a few.
“The look on peoples’ faces,” Green said, trailing off for a moment. They’re only expecting to get one box of food, she continued, but they open the bag and see three boxes in there. Then she hands the second bag.
“It’s almost a look of disbelief,” she said, recalling some of the people at Centennial Place during Friday’s delivery. “There was such a look of relief and, really, excitement. … It’s incredibly gratifying, and I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”
In the past, many of these people would go to Union Station Homeless Services’ headquarters in Pasadena to get food, but that’s just not possible for them these days, even though the nonprofit is still serving meals there — albeit, in dining space severely reduced by social distancing requirements.
The group’s clients were already living on extremely tight budgets and varying levels of food insecurity. But now, they can’t leave their homes as many are also immuno-compromised or they’re in segments of the population that’s required to self-isolate.
There’s a problem on the horizon, however.
Like everyone else, Green doesn’t know how long this crisis is going to last. And with every passing day, she said the demand for the meal service increases.
The meal deliveries will continue twice a week to residents in Centennial Place, as well as area motels and other permanent supportive housing residences, but Green suspects the demand could grow significantly in the coming weeks.
“The biggest challenge is really trying to figure out how to scale this up to meet this growing need,” she said. “We know it’s growing, but we don’t know to what extent it’s growing to.”
Union Station Homeless Center is at 412 S. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. To make a donation, whether it’s a fiscal or food, call 626-240-4550.
If you are suffering from food insecurity or need other assistance, call 211 to connect to the appropriate service.
Source: https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2020/04/06/union-station-delivers-5k-meals-to-san-gabriel-valleys-neediest-amid-coronavirus/