KNX Hero: Fighting food insecurity, nourishing L.A.

When Natalie Flores-Blackner created Nourish L.A. in the alleyway behind her home at the start of the 2020 pandemic, all she wanted to do was help her neighbors put food on the table.

Now, Flores-Blackner has six employees and a base of 1,300 volunteers feeding thousands of people every week from different locations.

She tells KNX Heroes Host Heather Jordan , "I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that we would be doing this. It's crazy."

Nourish L.A. is a non-profit that, as its website says, is "passionate about fighting hunger, preventing food waste, and cultivating community."

The organization lives its mission by redirecting perfectly edible food typically thrown away by major grocery stores, bakers, local gardens, and farms to families and people in need.

Flores-Blackner says one of the most abundant foods at this time of year is fruit—lots of people have extra lemons or limes or oranges in their backyards, so the team at Nourish L.A. started their latest program called 'Fruity Fridays.'

Flores-Blackner says donors can sign up on the Nourish L.A. website to have volunteers pick up excess fruit from their homes, which will be brought to community service hubs all around Los Angeles.

"I want everybody's cup and plate to be full of the abundance that I know is there," said Flores-Blackner.

A passion project that has soared past the most modest of expectations, Flores-Blackner says she's continually motivated by the community around her -- "The whole point is to get to know our neighbors, to show that if we work as a community, we can overcome these issues, and that always feels really good."

Natalie Flores-Blackner, CEO and Founder of Nourish LA is our KNX Hero of the Week!

Check out all our KNX Heroes here .

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