Food is not to be left in bags on front of the Palisades Library.
There appears to be a misguided person who is leaving bags of food by the Palisades Library.
At the beginning of October, this editor picked up a Trader Joe’s paper bag left on the bench in front of the Palisades Library. The food was put on top of a trash can by the library. Pacific Palisades has a bad vermin problem. Leaving food out is a way to exacerbate and encourage more rats.
Then CTN received a note from a resident on October 15, “Someone has again started to leave bags of food on the concrete bench by the library. This has happened in the last two weeks.
“The recent bag contained produce, among other things. The produce needed to be thrown out. I have saved the canned goods and packages of beans and will take them to the Westside Food Bank.”
The reader concluded, “I am not sure how this effort is stopped.”
The Palisades-Malibu YMCA gives out bags of groceries to those in need on Thursdays. The food, which does include produce, is usually placed in Trader Joe bags.
A reader spoke to YMCA Executive Director Kirtley, who verified the bag left on October 15 was one of the Y’s food distribution bags.
Finding out who is leaving it may be a problem because there are no cameras at the Palisades Library.
CTN spoke to Kirtley, who said he would speak to this Thursday volunteers to see if someone could figure out why a bag of food is being left there.
Friends of the Library President Laura Schneider has also removed food from that bench. She said she made and posted a sign, asking that food not be left.
On October 21, two plastic Ralphs’ shopping bags were left at the library. “A couple of bunches of celery, a lot of zucchini and a can of garbanzo beans. All went into the trash,” said the resident who found the bags.
If you know the person doing this, emphasize that food left on the bench is only encouraging the rats, and has been going into the garbage.
If the person’s intent is to do something helpful for people who do not have food, consider helping at the Y on Thursdays, donating to the Westside Food Bank or making sack lunches, which Palisades resident Hazel Tate distributes to the Hollywood Food Coalition (To participate, make 10 or more sack lunches and deliver them by Sunday at 10:30 a.m. to 516 Arbramar Avenue sack should include a sandwich, water, fresh fruit, copped salad, nuts or muesli bar, and chips).
DO NOT LEAVE BAGS OF FOOD IN FRONT OF THE LIBRARY.
They need cameras at the library😍 100%! How do we make that happen?
There is a food collection box at Santa Monica United Methodist Church every Sunday, on the corner of Washington & 11th Street. Drive up & Drop off non-perishable food at the corner.
And please don’t forget that a group of generous, dedicated volunteers make sack lunches twice a week for our PPTFH Outreach Team. We even meet to deliver the lunches to our team in the library parking lot! These lunches are used at the weekly “meet-ups” to engage our homeless neighbors and build a trusting relationship that has resulted in 180 people being housed and cared for. If you are interested in joining our Brown Bag Brigade, please contact carolpacpal@aol.com.