Bringing people together to fill a need - Polo’s Pantry & Eayikes
Ray and I met Melle (Melissa) at the 2019 LA Department of Mental Health's Filipino Mental Health Well-Being Summit by way of introduction by Danny Park of Skid Row Coffee/Skid Row People's Market. We trust Danny, so whenever he says we ought to meet somebody we make sure to do so! Hearing about her story combined with Danny's journey and the summit's offerings inspired us to apply for a CalMHSA grant to pursue a project focused on helping the helpers. "Who's helping the helpers?" is a question we began asking the more we understood the reality of grassroots frontliners everyday in the mental health space, like Melle loading her sedan to the brim to deliver groceries to low-income families living 7 people to a 1-bedroom apartment or Danny creating social enterprises that hire unhoused people while managing all that comes with being an employer striving to prioritize compassion over the bottom line. We received the grant, hosted a Kamayan dinner experience for 25 folks like Melle and Danny (thanks to Rice Guys/rctngl), and ever since sharing space with such beautifully big-hearted people we've felt challenged to take our work deeper. After a couple hangouts/meetings and less than a year later, here we are responding to a crisis alongside Melle with Home-y Made Meals.
What's amazed me most is the rate at which our community has been able to mobilize. Truly people power in its finest hour. Expanding from an idea to then different levels of goals and eventually exceeding all of them, I'm in awe of everyone who's answered the call and said "yes!" to being of service.
I especially want to shoutout Melle for bringing the expertise from being on the ground - helping us get the food to those who need it. Our relationship with Melle is what makes this project possible, connecting us to people like Goose and his team at God’s Pantry who graciously donated & delivered pallets of food for this project - helping us create a temporary pantry in the middle of LA county. Together, we’re harnessing people power and community resources to get meals to our neighbors who need them.
In the face of the pandemic, I’m so damn proud of this 100% volunteer-driven, all hands & hearts on deck effort. To all of you who’ve been spreading peanut butter, boiling noodles, donating money, re-posting on Instagram, and driving meals across town, thank you. The team is monitoring COVID-19 updates daily while working to create better, inclusive processes that improve the experience of volunteering for Home-y Made Meals. Y’all got me feeling even more connected to our city and the people whom we share this land with. Let’s go!!!
With love & sack lunches,
Alex Yoon
Eayikes Executive Director
