Needy Can Register for Food Program

Residents with low or moderate incomes can register Monday and Wednesday for a monthly food distribution program that will begin in January.

As many as 400 city households will be served by the six-month program, which will provide flour, canned goods, vegetables, soup, tuna, spaghetti sauce, noodles, crackers, cereal and butter to qualified registrants. The availability and quantity of food will vary each month.

Registration is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday in Ross Hall Auditorium at Bell Gardens Park, 6662 Loveland St.

Registrants must bring proof of income, which must fall within levels established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For a household of one to qualify, the maximum yearly income is $26,250; for a family of two, the limit is $30,000; for three, $33,750; for four, $37,500; for five, $40,500; for six, $43,500; for seven, $46,500; and for eight or more, $49,550.

Each employed member of a household must bring a federal tax return, a W-2 form, two recent check stubs, a letter from an employer stating gross annual income, or award letters for Social Security or Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Participants also must present proof of Bell Gardens residency, such as a driver license, rent receipt or utility bill.

Workers from the city and the nonprofit Human Services Assn. will distribute the food the second Wednesday of each month, starting Jan. 13, in the park auditorium.

The City Council has allocated $9,422 to fund the program through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year, said Dennis Moss, director of the city Recreation and Human Services Department. The Human Services Assn. is administering the program.

Information: (310) 806-4532.