Beverly Hills : New Riot Relief Drop-Off

The city has established a new drop-off location for residents to donate food and baby supplies for people in the riot-affected areas of Los Angeles.

Donations will be accepted 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays on the north side of the Beverly Hills Library near the book drop. The library is in the Civic Center at 444 N. Rexford Drive.

Residents of South Los Angeles and Compton are in particular need of non-perishable foods such as canned goods, pasta and powdered milk; baby supplies of food, formula and diapers; personal hygiene items such as toilet paper, soap and shampoo, and household cleaning items.

“The need is clearly great,” City Manager Mark Scott said. “People are literally standing in line for six to eight hours to obtain even a small bag of groceries.”

The new location, which is not staffed, replaces a parking lot site staffed by volunteers on Crescent Drive, said Robin Chancellor, the city’s special events manager.

“We hope to keep it going through the end of June,” she said, because it will be a while before some of the markets in the riot areas can reopen.

Community response to the call for donations has been very good, and there has been a lot of staff enthusiasm for the project, Chancellor said.

Donated goods have been delivered by city trucks to distribution points that include the Greater Bethany Community Church, First African-American Methodist Episcopal Church, Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Christian Community Center, Brotherhood Crusade and Nickerson Gardens.

For information, call the city at (310) 285-1023.