Reuse Assistance Grant Progress Report

City of Lomita Reuse Assistance Grant Project 
(Part 1: May 1, 2001 to November 1, 2001)

Project Description

The City of Lomita, in partnership with the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Torrance, Lakewood, and Redondo Beach, expanded an existing program to provide services to the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. This diverted edible food not sold at restaurants, food courts, hotels, hospitals, and other establishments, and provided it to the nonprofit Food Finders, who allocated the food to organizations that help meet the nutritional needs of displaced, indigent, or impoverished persons. Food Finders collected and distributed food along with other essential items to missions, shelters, treatment centers, senior centers, children's homes, etc. in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties at no cost to recipients.

The steps required to accomplish their project are as follows:

Task 1: Secure a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Food Finders. (4/15/01 to 5/16/01)
As this grant program entails the combined efforts of five cities and one nonprofit organization, the process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would provide a contractual basis for the completion of this project between by each of the participating entities has been problematic.

A draft MOU was produced by the City of Lomita and circulated to the grant participants. This MOU has been continually amended based upon the input provided by each of the entities' attorneys, risk managers, department heads, and city managers. As a result of the numerous changes, the final version of the MOU has only finally been agreed to, with each entity taking the MOU to their City Council/Board of Directors for ratification. As Lomita is the lead agency in this grant, Lomita will take the MOU to its Council once all of the other participants have ratified the agreement.

To date, Food Finders, Inc. and the City of Rancho Palos Verdes have completed the ratification process with RPV's City Council approving the MOU on October 16, 2001 and Food Finders on approximately the same date. The City of Lomita is currently awaiting copies of these signed documents. The other participants will be taking the agreement to their respective Councils during November. It is anticipated that this process will be completed by the middle of December 2001 due to scheduling constraints.

Task 2: Coordinate Photo Shoots for Ads & Brochures. (6/15/01 to 6/25/01)
Task 2 has not yet been started.

Task 3: Develop Database for Direct Mail Piece. (6/15/01 to 6/15/01)
Each city has requested a printout of their food service providers from their Business License Departments. This data will be used to compile a mailing list of food service providers that will bolster identification with the program, as well as provide additional contact information and name recognition of Food Finders.

Task 4: Design Promotional Brochure. (6/25/01 to 6/30/01)
A promotional brochure has been discussed, but no other steps have been taken.

Task 5: Produce Photos for Ads & Brochures. (6/26/01 to 7/10/01)
No photographs have yet to be taken other than the one in the Rancho Palos Verdes Community Forum.

Task 5.1: Print Brochure. (7/11/01 to 7/15/01)
This brochure must be developed prior to printing.

Task 6: Print Promotions in Newsletters and Newspaper. (7/15/01 to 5/1/03)
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes published an article in the Summer 2001 City Newsletter, the Community Forum, informing businesses and residents of the grant and Food Finders in the program. The article asked that those interested in volunteering to help with the collection and dissemination of food, or businesses interested in donating edible food, contact Food Finders. The article generated calls to Food Finders regarding volunteer work and also elicited the donation of a computer and printer to be used by the Food Finders office staff.

Lomita will draft a press release that will go out in the Winter 2001 Lomita Newsletter, which is mailed to all Lomita residents and businesses in late November or early December. The City of Lakewood has released a press release in the Press Telegram advertising this program. It is anticipated that additional advertisements will be published in the Lomita Junction and the Daily Breeze newspapers.

Task 7: Prioritize & Meet with Food Vendors & Recruit Volunteers. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Dove Mayo of Food Finders has begun meeting with food service providers in the participating cities. Additionally, as she was unaware of the vagaries of the boundaries of the cities located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and adjacent to Lomita, she has also contacted some businesses in neighboring cities.

As these businesses are not located in the specific coverage area of this grant, these contacts, however, fulfill one of the main objectives of this grant, which was to provide the impetus for the expansion of this program throughout the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. They are, however, sensitive to the need to only bill the grant for work conducted in the target area.

Task 8: Compile Information into Categories for Diversion Calculation Recordation. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Food Finders will utilize their pre-existing diversion categories for diversion recordation.

Task 9: Procure Direct Mail Envelopes. (12/14/01 to 12/28/01)
Envelopes have yet to be procured.

Task 10: Hire Full-Time Equivalent Staff/Purchase Food Handling Equipment/Purchase Computer. (6/15/01 to 6/25/01)
1. On October 11, 2001 Food Finders hired Ms. Mayo to conduct the outreach to the business community. She will work eight (8) hours per day, three (3) days per week for a total of 24 hours per week. Ms. Mayo has been hired at a salary of $10.00 per hour. By the end of October, Ms. Mayo will have worked a total of 68.5 hours and have earned $685.00, plus an additional $13.70 to help pay for taxes. Therefore, the total amount of grant funding that will have been spent for Ms. Dove is $698.70. Additionally, Food Finders will bill the following salary expenses to this grant program: Salaries for Susan Beckley and Martha Solis: 16 hours per week at $10.00 per hour for three (3) weeks for a total of $480.00. Therefore, the total amount spent on this grant program by Food Finders is $1,178.70.

In order to meet the Matching Fund requirement, Food Finders has documented the following:

• Magan Lewis, Arlene Mercer, and Ms. Beckley have put in an additional 20 hours of time in order to compile reports and provide administrative support.
• Further, each city has provided staff time to move this program forward. This time, which has yet to be fully documented, is part of the match guaranteed in accepting the grant monies. These costs will be forwarded once they have been fully compiled.

2. Food Finders is utilizing pre-existing food handling equipment to collect food from the food service providers located in the participating cities.

3. As noted in the Task 6 commentary, as a result of the article in the Rancho Palos Verdes Community Forum, a computer and printer were donated to Food Finders. This donated computer will meet all of Food Finders requirements for tracking and recordation of their grant activities.

Task 11.1: Collect Edible Food. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Food Finders has already begun to collect food from various food service vendors in the participating cities.

Task 11.2: Disseminate Edible Food. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Those foods collected under this program are being disseminated to the needy. A list of those agencies receiving these food donations will be provided once it has been compiled.

Task 12: Stuff Brochures into Direct Mailing Envelopes. (7/15/01 to 7/25/01)
Task 12 has not yet been started.

Task 12.1: Mail Envelopes. (1/16/02 to 1/31/02)
Task 12.1 has not yet been started.

Task 13: Prepare Related Articles/Press Releases. (1/16/02 to 1/31/02) 
See Task 6 for details.

Task 14: Respond to Campaign-Generated Calls. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Task 14 has not yet been started.

Task 15: Schedule Presentations to Food Service & Public Service Groups. (6/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Ms. Mayo has begun visiting Food Service providers in each of the participating cities. The cities have developed a letter of introduction that Ms. Mayo will be able to present to the Manager/Proprietor/Business Owner. By supplying this letter, each city hopes to show "institutional" support for this program, thereby providing program validity and encouragement to the business owners to work with Food Finders by donating edible food.

Task 16: Compile Report to Donors Relating to Pounds of Food Collected. (12/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Food Finders will be compiling reports that will be forwarded to each of the participating food service providers participating in the program on a quarterly basis.

Task 16.1: Compile Report to Cities Relating to Pounds of Food Diverted. (12/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Copies of the above noted reports will be forwarded to each respective city, with Lomita receiving copies of all reports.

Task 17: Compile Reports for CIWMB to Satisfy Grant Reporting Documentation. (5/1/03)
Copies of all reports compiled by Lomita will be submitted to the CIWMB.

*Permission was obtained from grant recipient to publish project profile.

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Last updated: June 25, 2008