Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Flores.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m 33 years old, an organic urban farmer of 10+ years, a mother of a 3 year old little girl, and very much a community bee. I’ve been working for non-profits a little over 8 years specializing in Community Engagement. A majority of my friends are also farmers, teachers and most importantly DOERS. When Covid hit, I decided to start a food drive from the alley of my apartment in Mar Vista with the help of my neighbors and friends. I am a part of a variety of different groups and forums on Facebook, and saw many parents in desperate need of healthy foods and groceries. My first emotion was anger and rage. I knew there was tons of food going to waste daily, which was a major systems issue, not a resource issue. A week before I started this drive I was working for Safe Place for Youth, and at the time my co-worker met a woman depositing a large surplus of compost into our communal compost bin in Venice. I was not there but my co-worker knew that I would appreciate the connection. I’m glad she got her information because I quickly hopped on the opportunity to make this grand connection. Ironically I was in charge of engaging my community and figuring out ways to work together to help spread the mission of SPY.
My co-worker asked her where the food was coming from and she said FoodcycleL.A, which I called immediately to inquire about them entrusting me to take a load of food. I promptly made a plan of action when I got home and canvassed my neighbors to save bags, rubber bands, and egg cartons. I fortunately had a good friend help me to make a proper flier which I then posted on social media to 10 different community forums I was already a part of. I of course asked my neighbors, an amazing married couple and close volunteer friends with Safeplaceforyouth.org, Mary and Michael Fitz to help me with this endeavor and they hopped on without hesitation. We started mid-March on a Sunday at 11am and in the 1st hour we had run out of food. Together we served 60 families! I remember folks crying with gratitude and sharing their stories with us on how Covid-19 has affected them: no job, no benefits, three kids to feed, last $100, and no idea how they were going to feed their families. My heart filled with emotion and my hands got quickly to work as I realized we were definitely going to need to expand. I knew there were more folks that we needed to reach. We were literally hitting on the tip of the iceberg of food insecurity in our neighborhood, and I turned my rage into motivation.
I reached out to my old boss from 10 years ago, Demetrios Mavromichalis, owner of the Venice Grind, The Mar Vista and The Wood Cafe and inquired what he was doing with his restaurant(s). I knew tons of businesses were being forced to close down, per stay at home orders. He told me he had just laid off 70 of his employees and he had to close his doors. This was when I saw the opportunity to merge forces and grow our operation. Demetrius quickly jumped at the idea of using his restaurant to help feed folks in need.
The following Sunday, we did a food drive in the parking lot of The Wood Cafe at 12000 Washington Blvd 90066, solely to feed his employees. Food disappeared within minutes, and I knew I needed to get my hands on more food. We reached out to people in our inner circle and it worked…we got more food…a lot more food! Week after week as our lines expanded the food increased. We created a Signup Genius to get a steady flow and solid group of volunteers to come help us. We solicited people from the community to please donate excess fruit from their trees, and any excess food goods they have in their restaurants. I contacted Food Forward, The Westside Foodbank and every other food recovery agency in L.A.
Fast forward a few months and we’ve applied to be a 501(c)3 and just waiting for our paperwork to get approved. We hope to grow this thing and create green spaces teaching folks about the importance of growing their own food and remembering to cultivate community around food. After all we all gotta eat. I quit my job at SPY and started devoting my days to NourishLA. We are seven months in with two hub sites, and we feed folks every Saturday and Sunday without fail. We have helped divert over 250,000 lbs of food from going to waste, opened up a second hub site in Venice, CA at St. Mark’s Church, fed over 1500 people every single weekend (70 of which are veterans and 250+ are elderly or immune-compromised). I have a crew of 50 volunteers working throughout the week to help us secure food items, and ALSO give out thousands of organic plant seedlings on Friday’s at the Wood Cafe. We aim to help secure even more food locally in the form of Organic Gardens. We can’t just sit back and watch this shit show of Covid unfold while folks in our own communities go hungry, and parents struggle to provide meals for their families. We have to act now and cultivate in any way we can.
NourishLA has been featured on CBS News, The NewYorkTimes, LAweekly, The Argonaut and other various news outlets. We hope to inspire folks to innovate and share their gifts, as well as learn to steward the earth AND each other again.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think it would be harder NOT to do anything. Yes, we have our struggles. At the beginning it was not having enough food. Now it’s funding and getting our paperwork approved. We persist because there’s nothing like filling up your cup with gratitude and knowing there are folks who are worse off than you and that need help. It gives you perspective and helps you to stay on the path of neighborly love and service unto others. We’re supposed to LOVE one another!
NourishL.A – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are NourishL.A, driven by “Love thy neighbor-neighbors helping neighbors stay nourished with healthy food and organic seedlings for their gardens”. I’m most proud of all the folks that have come through to help each other, and strangers who know they have to act with their hands and body to make simple changes in their community. We are set apart because we aren’t driven by money, we’re driven by our community and by our friends and families, as well as securing healthy and nourishing food.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is having a sense of accomplishment, good health, gratitude, balance in one’s life, community and healthy relationships with the folks around you.
Community makes us successful, it makes us happier too.
Pricing:
Contact Info:
- Address: 4635 Lindblade Dr Culver City CA 90230
- Website: nourish.LA
- Phone: 3233607210
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourishl.a/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100051075615581
Image Credit:
Nikos Mavromichalis
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