{"id":14060,"date":"2022-02-28T18:03:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T18:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/?p=14060"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:08:07","slug":"black-history-month-in-the-right-place-doing-the-right-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/black-history-month-in-the-right-place-doing-the-right-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month: “In The Right Place Doing The Right Thing\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Help Me Help You Is Uplifting Kids And Their Families Across Los Angeles\u2019 South Bay Community<\/span><\/i><\/p>[Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>]

At No Kid Hungry, we believe all children have dreams for greatness in their futures. That\u2019s why we work to ensure every child gets the food they need to grow up healthy, happy and strong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As we celebrate Black History Month and Black History year round, we want to highlight the contributions, accomplishments, and magic Black Americans both past and present – and all the future dreams of Black children.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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And at the same time, we must reflect on the real hunger in the Black community. These stories are part of a movement that for years has recognized the direct connection between systemic racism and hunger. We hope these stories inspire people to join us as we rally and fight to end child hunger and it\u2019s disproportionate impact on communities of color.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Right here in California, local organizations, individuals and schools are working hard to nurture strong futures for the children in their community.<\/span><\/p>

As the 7th most populated city in California, Long Beach is notably home to one of the largest ports in the world. However, the health and economic challenges of the ongoing pandemic continue to cause a rise in community food insecurity, leaving children, seniors, and families needing access to nutrition services more than ever before. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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For 18 years, Zina Washington, co-founder and executive director of <\/span>Help Me Help You<\/span><\/a> has been on a mission to fight hunger, reduce homelessness and improve the overall health and well-being of Los Angeles\u2019s South Bay and Long Beach communities. Washington\u2019s leadership and commitment to helping her community developed at a young age, born in Los Angeles to a family of entrepreneurs and a mother who was passionate about feeding those in need. \u201c<\/span>My parents have been my heroes. My father was an entrepreneur, so I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. This was my opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Since 2006, Help Me Help You has provided free fresh and nutritious groceries as well as life-changing services to more than 50,000 residents in need through their Nutrition Knights <\/span>Grocery Grab-N-Go Food Pantry program<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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However, it was not until the beginning of the pandemic that Help Me Help You was able to expand their Grocery Grab-N-Go program to ten sites across schools and community locations. Working alongside school nutrition programs, they provided ingredients that fed whole families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cOur food pantry program works alongside the school nutrition programs so when the school is passing out their grab and go school meals, that’s when we provide our pantry service. It has made it convenient for parents – because the schools that we serve are 85-90% eligible for free and reduced-priced meals,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Washington says. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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While Washington and her staff of eight and volunteers have put in countless hours to fight hunger, they see firsthand the ups and downs faced by the families they serve.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cOver the last two years, the number of families going to our food pantry sites has gone up and down,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd it’s a direct reflection, you know, when the stimulus or Pandemic EBT came out, our numbers went down, but as you know, it’s been some time. Most recently our numbers have climbed back up.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>

They also worked hard to make their food pantries a place that families feel welcome and can count on finding the food they love. <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to make it a little bit more festive, because we don\u2019t want families to see a pantry empty of their staple foods or assume food pantries are just for \u2018low-income\u2019 families.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Amidst all the challenges of the past two years, Washington is proud of what they have been able to accomplish – the staff, volunteers, and community. \u201c<\/span>Because of the direct services we provide, we can see the impact of our work. We can see how our work has affected many lives. We grow up with our kids,\u201d she shared. \u201cWe know that we are in the right place doing the right thing, that we helped.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Let this Black History Month be a celebration of the strength and resiliency of leaders like Zina Washington and her team at Help Me Help You, working tirelessly to ensure that all kids have the food to power their dreams.<\/span><\/p>

For site information where Long Beach families can get free groceries, visit <\/span>Help Me Help You<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Read more stories from <\/span>No Kid Hungry<\/span><\/a> staff and other partners from across the United States:<\/span><\/p>