Northridge Hospital Medical Center hands out 12,000 pounds of produce monthly, and this day a pumpkin too.
They started to line up in older cars, trucks and SUVs an hour before the fresh produce drive-thru giveaway opened at Dignity Health–Northridge Hospital Medical Center on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 27.
Ramos, a new employee at the medical center, called the monthly gathering every fourth Thursday, which began in July 2021, a great way to bring the community together and create new connections. Susan Bales helps distribute food during the monthly food distribution event at Northridge Hospital October 27, 2022. The drive-thru giveaway provides fresh fruit and produce to 250 – 300 families a month.
“The pandemic shifted many things, people lost their jobs or had to get second jobs to bring food to the table,” she said. She worked at a clinic and took a second job in retail to help pay the rent and survive. “Our ministry is really around the mission of our hospital, making the presence of God known and those who we care for, whether they are people who are rich, poor, everyone — but particularly our vulnerable population,” said Miriam Melgar-Atanaya, director of mission integration and patient experience, “while we advance the social justice for anyone who comes to our door and people in our community.