Supporters like you

At that time, many of its clients were their friends; others were patients of Dr. Kauhanen. Wanting to help alleviate their suffering, they invested in the only standard of care that gave them a fighting chance – food and love. 

They have been amazed by the growth spurts this organization has faced head-on with successful results, and inspired by the efforts by its volunteer base, staff and dedicated community. As a result, they show up in big ways year-round – they are hosts of the annual Gala and Garden Party, they have made multi-year pledges to the Rise to the Challenge capital campaign, and they have joined the Guardian Society by naming Project Angel Food in their estate plans.

As the years went on and our mission expanded, they grew more and more dedicated to our services – eventually deciding to revise their estate to include us as beneficiaries.

In her own words, Jackie says: “we have always personally measured success in terms of the contributions we make to our fellow human beings. We believe we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give… and we love Project Angel Food!”

“I had so much fun on my first day that I was there five days a week for the next few months! At the time we were feeding about 100 people a day, and the entire kitchen had to be packed up at the end of every shift so that the church could host AA meetings in the evenings.”

Carol has now volunteered for 32 years – enough time to know all our chefs from when they were first hired as dishwashers. She says they are like family to her, and that they all know one another’s kids and grandkids.

She’s still coming in regularly, sometimes up to three days a week. Though Carol’s always willing to pitch in and do whatever needs to be done, one of her favorite tasks is working the machine that seals the meal trays after they’ve been filled. “I like to make the meals look good. You know, you eat with your eyes first. The other day we were doing chicken, and I was turning the pieces over to the browned side, the pretty side. Sometimes I stop the machine and say, there’s not enough, give me some more food. I ask, would this be enough food for me? That’s the benchmark.”

Dr Rongxiang Xu was a world renowned surgeon who developed an innovative technique for healing burn patients, which led to his founding of MEBO and many further discoveries and inventions in the field of tissue repair and regeneration. Raven is the CEO of the Human Heritage Project, a nonprofit that works to help all under-served and disadvantaged communities and creates a better quality of life.

Their support of our participation in the California Food is Medicine Coalition’s (CalFIMC) four-year Medi-Cal Medically Tailored Meals pilot program improved health outcomes for hundreds of critically ill Californians and created breakthrough research in healthcare. Their commitment through their foundations allowed beneficiaries of this program—who had a diagnosis of congestive heart failure –to continue to receive meals and nutritional counseling after the intervention ended – making the study a huge success.

After the passing of Kevin’s grandmother, they wanted to work even more closely with Project Angel Food to help more people in her memory. The Xu and Yins have two children, and for the past several years they have been in the kitchen at 5:30am on Thanksgiving morning to celebrate the holiday and to commemorate her!

Last year, when Connie heard that Project Angel Food needed a new van because of our growing client base, she graciously answered that call and purchased a brand new, refrigerated van for meal deliveries. That van, which reads “Generously Provided by The Connie Frank Foundation,” is now traveling all throughout L.A. County helping feed 2,500 clients a day.

Thank you to Connie for your endless support of Project Angel Food. You are a true angel!