Emergency food before CalFresh benefits load - need LA/Pasadena food banks open after 5pm

Call 211! They can direct you to emergency food resources open in the evening. For Pasadena specifically, Friends In Deed Food Pantry stays open until 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also try All Saints Church in Pasadena - they sometimes have evening distribution. The LA Regional Food Bank has a mobile pantry program with some evening hours too. If you're really in a bind, most county DPSS offices keep emergency food boxes for situations exactly like yours. You can go to your local CalFresh office tomorrow morning and explain your situation - they should be able to provide emergency assistance even before your regular benefits load.

Freinds In Deed is good but they get super crowded!! get there right when they open if u can. theres also food pantry at Foothill Unity Center in Monrovia they open til 5:30 on wednesdays i think. good luck!!!

I've been in your exact situation before! In addition to what others mentioned, check out SOVA Community Food & Resource Program - they have a pantry in Van Nuys that's open until 7:30pm on Tuesdays. It's a bit of a drive from Pasadena but worth it in an emergency. Also, for future reference, you can request an expedited issuance of your CalFresh benefits if you're in an emergency situation with little/no food. If your income and resources are low enough, they're required to provide benefits within 3 days instead of the normal 30-day processing time. Just something to remember if this happens again.

have you tried the salvation army? they sometimes have food boxes you can pick up and they stay open later sometimes

I've been through the emergency food situation too many times with CalFresh gaps. One hack that saved me: some grocery stores like Food 4 Less will let you use your CalFresh card at midnight on the day benefits are supposed to load (so Friday at midnight instead of waiting for Saturday morning). Also, if you need to reach someone at the DPSS office about emergency assistance but can't get through on their regular line, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's a service that helps you get through to a real CalFresh worker instead of being stuck on hold forever. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed emergency help last year.

Catholic Charities has emergency food assistance and they're usually open until 6pm. They don't ask about your religion or anything. Also check with Shepherd's Pantry in Glendora, they're open Thursday evenings until 7:30pm. Just wondering tho... if ur getting CalFresh on Saturday why don't u have food now? Did they reduce ur benefits or something? My caseworker told me benefits are supposed to last the whole month. Not judging! Just wondering if you should ask for an increase if it's not enough for your family size.

Just following up - were you able to find food assistance? If you're still struggling, you could try Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena. They provide meals and I believe dinner is served around 6pm. You don't have to be homeless to access their services.