Pasadena Center to Continue Meal Program

In an effort to continue aiding the Pasadena community during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19), Pasadena Center Operating Company (PCOC) and Centerplate, the exclusive food and beverage provider for the Pasadena Convention Center and Pasadena Civic Auditorium, will continue providing healthy meals for students and families of the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD).

The meals will be distributed over four weekends through May 16th and 17th. The meal program will be paid for by the city of Pasadena.

Each weekend, 15 PCOC staff members will volunteer to transport, set up and distribute the meals (1,400 per day / 2,800 in total per weekend) at four of seven PUSD distribution locations from 9 to 11 am. The healthy pre-packaged meals include premium deli sandwiches carved in house, fruit, cookies, juice, or milk.

Since the Operating Company’s initial outreach of support to the Pasadena community, the PCOC and Centerplate have prepared, delivered, and distributed over 11,000 nutritious meals to PUSD students and families.

From March 28th to April 19th, 20 PCOC staff members spent 490 hours volunteering at four of the meal distribution locations, including aiding the PUSD during their weekly Grab N’ Go program. In addition, in-kind services for the entire meal program is currently nearing $20,000 and growing.

The weekend meal distribution supplements the Grab and Go program which is held Monday-Friday.

“The Pasadena Center Operating Company is pleased to help in this ongoing time of need and we are beyond grateful for the positive support from the City of Pasadena and our partners at Centerplate,” said Michael Ross, CEO of the PCOC. “We are fortunate to have the resources and volunteers to make this all possible and continue being a beacon of hope and support for those in need.”