Project Angel Food & Homeboy Industries- Day 2

On Tuesday last week, we had two stops on our agenda. The first is a ministry named Project Angel Food. It started during the AIDS crisis in LA back a couple/few decades ago. People began seeing their friends disappear and wondered why they weren't out to eat and have a good time. They discovered that people were homebound. Today, they provide meals for many who are struggling with illness. They deliver over 500,000 meals a year, which is roughly 10,000 each week. You can check out their website to learn more. www.angelfood.org

Our job at Project Angel Food was to execute the recipes they had for that day, and package the meals they had already completed. Once the meals are prepared and packaged they are frozen using a device that freezes the meals and protects the nutritious value. Since these meals are for those struggling with illness they use the best natural ingredients and want to make sure these meals will be healthy. The scale of this project is amazing. I've seen "Meals on Wheels" in smaller communities that deliver hot meals (which is how Project Angel Food began), and to see that multiplied by 100x is incredible to me! We had fun working with their chefs and knowing that a giant number of people would benefit. At the end, we enjoyed the lunch and pies the chefs had prepared. Amazing!

Homeboy Industries

After we finished up lunch, we headed to downtown LA to the offices of Homeboy Industries. This ministry focuses on people who have been a part of gangs and/or incarcerated and provides services to get them a healthy life outside of gangs/jail/prison. There are classes for all different areas of life. They have a bakery and a cafe (the food is REALLY good!) that provides jobs for these folks, and connects them with a renewed sense of purpose and meaning. We heard stories from multiple people of how their life has turned around because of Homeboy Industries. One of their major offerings is tattoo removal. This helps people be able to get employment and to cut ties and start a new chapter of life. The people who are in the program at Homeboy Industries consider this their "family." They are connected and help each other and encourage one another. You can learn more about this ministry and the man who founded it, Father Greg Boyle, at their website. www.homeboyindustries.org 

After our tour, it was just a short walk across the street to China Town, which was a neat little stop to check out. I wish we had time for a tour of Dodger Stadium too, but I'll have to make another trip for that.

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What I Learned

This is something I really learned all week long. From the moment I stepped off the plane in LA, the main thing I noticed was the diversity. Ethnic and racial diversity, socio-economic diversity, religious diversity, etc. It's all there in a relatively small space. You don't see that as much in the Midwest so it stuck out to me, but for most people in LA it's just normal. Which, to me, is a great thing! The thing I learned was that we still have a lot in common with each other even if we have different backgrounds. We can emphasize our shared experiences and create community around that instead of emphasizing our pre-conceived stereotypes and divisions. It has inspired me to seek out more diverse friendships in my community.