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Hunger Action Month

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The California Association of Food Banks reports that 1 in 5 Californias, approximately 8 million people, regularly battle food insecurity. Nationwide research notes that Black, Latinx and multiracial residents experience food insecurity at the highest rates. Through its partnership with Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, CoreGiving is committing all donations to Friends in Deed. Along with non-perishable food, due to the heat index, residents are encouraged to donate bottled water.

Friends in Deed is a nonprofit organization that provides survival resources to the underserved communities of Pasadena, Altadena and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley. Its services include street outreach, a food pantry, eviction prevention and rental assistance. Additionally, Friends in Deed founded The Women’s Room, which is focused on serving women who experience homelessness.

From nonperishable items to cooking essentials and fresh produce, Friends in Deedś food pantry provides the kinds of foods that anyone may stock in their own kitchens. Tim Nistler has worked as the director of the food pantry for 10 years but noted that in the past two there has been an increased need in the community. His aim is to keep ahead of the demand so that anyone who asks for assistance receives it in abundance.

“We received 9,000 or 10,000 pounds of food today. We might not use all of that next week. That was just what we got in today. And we'll use a lot of it but my hope is to always have extra in the stockroom,” he said. “We're not going to turn anyone away. I would like people to come when we're open, but if they don't know or they forgot, (or) they haven't been here in a while. We're gonna make sure they get food and try to remove that one hurdle they're facing.”

After the onset of COVID19, 50.3% of adults who experience food insecurity have children in their households and 35.6% are single parents, according to a 2020 USC study. With the onset of the pandemic, Nistler saw an increase of about 100 families in need of food, averaging today at 440 per week. This need, Nistler noted, does not appear to be decreasing anytime soon.

“A lot of it is still dealing with high food costs,” Nistler said, “The gas prices have dropped a bit, but they're still high, and then also probably some of the issues surrounding rent moratoriums going away. Any relief they had for rent or some of those related monthly expenses — that's kind of gone away so everything is just back in full force. It's like right in all of our family's faces. And so they need places like Friends in Deed.”

The same study found that the highest rates of food insecurity were in East L.A. (21.8%), San Gabriel Valley (17.9%), Metro L.A. (17.4%), and South L.A. (15.8%). The average rent in Los Angeles is over $2,700 while the national average sits at $1,700, according to rentcafe.com.

Feeding America cites that children facing hunger are more likely to be hospitalized and face higher risks of health conditions like anemia and asthma. This puts those affected at higher risk should they contract COVID-19. Hunger in children is also linked to depression, mood, behavior, substance abuse disorders, and reduced learning and productivity.

Because this issue is faced by people of all ages, One Colorado will also educate children on nutrition, hunger, and food insecurity through a complimentary hands-on activity during “Feed the Plate,” on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 3 to 5 p.m. Food donations are also welcome during this event. Nistler and others on the Friends in Deed team will have a booth with information about its many services.

“People that need assistance, whether it's food assistance, or any kind of social services, assistance, or maybe homeless in some cases, they're just like us. They have children, they have aunts and uncles and grandparents and newborns and pets and they need to take a shower and brush their teeth and go to school and go to work. They're just like all of us, and we might not know that the person next to us is visiting a food bank or needing that assistance,” added Nistler, “And if we can start there, then I think that opens us up to to be more understanding of our community.”

The Pantry is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friends in Deed accepts donations Fridays and Saturdays only, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donations of food, toiletries and water are accepted.

For more information on the most needed items visit friendsindeedpas.org/ programs/the-food-pantry/. There are many forms of aid, and volunteers are encouraged to apply. To stay up to

Photos courtesy of Friends in Deed

date, follow Friends in Deed on all social media where calls to action based on need are posted regularly.

Tickets for “A Magical Night to Fight Hunger” are $100 per person. To purchase tickets, please visit Eventbrite.

For more information on One Colorado or to learn more about the center’s complimentary Hunger Action Month activities, please visit www. onecolorado.com and follow the property on Facebook and Instagram at @OneColoradoOldPasadena.

MADIA Tech Report: Artificial intelligence can build better drugs

By Brenda Trainor

| Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Terray Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company that is propelling the discovery and development of medicines and effective therapies into the information age. Led by pioneers and long-time leaders in artificial intelligence, medicinal chemistry, biology and preclinical development, automation, and nanotechnology, the company is soon to be among Monrovia’s largest biotech operations.

Dr. Jacob Berlin, the company’s CEO will be talking at the next hybrid-meetup of MADIA Tech Launch on Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. He will be discussing how his company is building an iterative, flexible chemistry engine that aims to deliver more precise therapies to patients faster than ever before. Terray’s computational system is proprietary and integrates research and experimentation to find new paths of biochemical interactions. What that means is that it won’t take as much time to get a newly-discovered drug to patients with an effective therapeutic regimen.

The pathway of building and growing an advanced biotech company is complex and expensive. Dr. Berlin will be describing not only the growth of his company and its research but their plans for the future as they move into an almost 50,000-square-foot facility at the Monrovia Technology Campus at Royal Oaks Drive and Mountain Avenue.

To attend Dr. Berlin’s presentation either in person or via Zoom, please link to an Eventbrite ticket through this link: https:// bit.ly/MADIA14Sep22. It is free to join the virtual Zoom portion. In-person attendees are charged $16.60 and get a healthy dinner from Little Green Forks, at the Tanner Research HQ located at 1851 Huntington Dr. in Duarte.

MADIA Tech Launch is a nonprofit educational organization promoting technology entrepreneurs in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. Visit www.MADIAtech.org to learn more.