The LA Food Bank distributed 160 million pounds in 2025; 23.5 million supported disaster response

A year of distribution and volunteer service

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank reported distributing 160 million pounds of food and grocery products in calendar year 2025, equivalent to 129 million meals. Its annual report said more than 600 partner agencies were supported across the network. The meal figure is the Food Bank’s equivalency for distributed goods. [1]

More than 36,000 volunteers contributed over 239,000 hours of service during the year, according to the report. The annual figures count people and service hours separately; they do not break out how many volunteers or hours were devoted to disaster response. [1]

Of the year’s distributions, the Food Bank identified 23.5 million pounds of food and essential products for disaster response. It described distributions through partner agencies, drive-through events, mobile food pantries and wildfire resource hubs as communities dealt with the effects of the early 2025 fires. [1]

Two figures, different reporting scopes

A May 20 wildfire status report said 58 million pounds of food and products had been distributed since the fires began on January 7. That total included ready-to-eat food, water and personal care items, and the Food Bank valued the distributed goods at more than $92 million. The same update reported 62 million pounds acquired during that period. [2]

The May figure covers distributions since January 7 as of May 20; the annual report’s 23.5 million pounds is the total it identified for disaster response during 2025. The two reports describe different time frames and categories, so the figures should not be added or treated as measurements of an identical category. [2] [1]

The May update also said distribution had risen 30% compared with the previous year and that the Food Bank and its partner network reached more than 1 million people monthly since January. The annual report separately said the Food Bank continued serving more than 1 million people each month during the government-shutdown period of heightened need. These are monthly network-reach measures, not annual counts of unique recipients. [2] [1]

The network behind the totals

The annual report describes a year shaped by the Greater Los Angeles wildfires and a government shutdown at the end of 2025. It says the fires displaced hundreds of thousands of people and that the shutdown affected CalFresh benefits for an estimated 1 million Los Angeles County households. The Food Bank reported a $10 million investment from the LA County Board of Supervisors to support its expanded distributions during the shutdown. [1]

The Food Bank’s annual totals show the volume moved through its own operations and partner network. They do not measure whether hunger rose or fell or how much assistance each household received. The reported meal equivalency is not a count of plates served. [1]