Lunch in the Park has been providing meals to the homeless.

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Friday, July 10, 2020
Non-profit provides 'Lunch in the Park' for homeless
Newly created nonprofit Lunch in the Park has been providing meals to the homeless amid the coronavirus pandemic, but is in need of donations in order to meet demand.

Lunch in the Park, a newly created nonprofit is on a mission to help individuals and their families.

When the pandemic hit, the demand for meals greatly increased. What started as 25 hot meals has now grown to dozens, feeding about 200 people every week. However, the free food program is struggling to keep up and meet people's needs.

"The issue we have here is so serious. It's really complex; it's really complicated," said Leslie Song, founder of Lunch in the Park.

Launched late last year, Song began delivering home-cooked meals twice a week to MacArthur Park located in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

"MacArthur Park is really a hub for many people who are homeless or having a real difficult time paying their bills," said Song.

"It's more crowded and there's more new faces," Song told us. "A lot more people, and the people that would come through to get our meals, at least half of them were new to the park. There were people that we didn't recognize."

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, her free food program is struggling to keep up and meet people's needs. "Money-wise it's a little tricky, but I try to have protein and green food - and healthy food," said Song. "They are really appreciative, they really are...It's really hard to get, you know, any kind of home-cooked food."

Watch to see how you can help Lunch in the Park!

For more on how to help, visit the company's Facebook or GoFundMe pages.