The line forms early, and most people in it are pulling a cart. The boxes are heavy — that is the first thing regulars tell newcomers.
Pasadena Senior Center holds its monthly food distribution Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the parking lot east of the center at 85 E. Holly St., between the building and the Memorial Park Metro station. Low-income adults 60 and older receive one free box; couples receive two. The food comes from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in partnership with the center, and boxes are built around specific nutritional needs — cheese, canned fruits and vegetables, dry milk and other dairy products, cereals and grain products.
Two rules matter. Preregistration with proof of income and a California identification card is required for first-time recipients. And opening boxes on the premises is prohibited.
The harder news is in the fine print of the newsletter listing that carried it: the Food Bank is not currently accepting new enrollments. Older adults who are not already in the program will be placed on a waiting list and directed toward other available food sources.
There are others. The Senior Center itself operates a food pantry on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Beyond it, Pasadena has a dense network — Foothill Unity Center on North Oak Avenue, the Friends In Deed pantry on East Washington Boulevard, and Saturday distributions at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran and Westminster Presbyterian, among others.
The monthly distribution falls on the first Friday of every month.
The Pasadena Senior Center Monthly Food Bank Distribution will run on Friday, August 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly St. in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 685-6732 or visit pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Resources, then Food Distribution Programs. Admission is free. Preregistration required for first-time recipients. New enrollments are currently closed.
