CBS Los Angeles published May 24, 2022: Goldstein Investigates: Cameras catch employees throwing away food meant for the homeless. Our hidden cameras caught employees with the LA Homeless Services Authority throwing away cases of food meant to be distributed to those less fortunate.
CBS News Los Angeles published May 26, 2022: Advocates react to shocking video showing employees throwing away food meant for homeless.
CBS News, Los Angeles local
written by David Goldstein
Monday May 23, 2022
Employees with the Los Angeles Homeless Services were caught on camera throwing food meant for the unhoused straight into the dumpster.
"It's a theft of taxpayer dollars," said Jay Handal, Chair of The Homeless Committee for the L.A. Neighborhood Councils. "These people are being paid to go out and service and take care of people so not only are they stealing their pay but they're throwing away good, valuable food for people who have nothing to eat."
With hidden cameras, CBSLA's investigative team caught employees with LAHSA throwing cases of taxpayer-funded food meant for the homeless right into the dumpster.
"It's appalling what I see on that video," said Handal. "This is an absolute disgrace."
For months, the investigative team watched outreach workers with LAHSA picking up food for the less fortunate. The employees were supposed to spend their days interacting with the thousands of homeless in Los Angeles. LAHSA administrators said the goal was to build trust with the unhoused, using the food in hopes of convincing them to accept government service and housing.
One team that CBSLA followed could be seen picking up the homeless food, driving around for hours, stopping twice to give out meals before going on a break to walk around Balboa Park for an hour.
However, at the end of their shift, they were seen giving away all the food at a homeless encampment in Panorama City, folding up the empty boxes the food was once in.
But another team was seen driving and making stops at Target, Starbucks and McDonald's all while passing dozens of homeless people along the way. When they finally returned to their office, instead of folding up empty boxes, one LAHSA employee was seen throwing a case full of food in the dumpster behind their Panorama City building.
Another team was seen taking the boxes out of their car, walking into the room with the dumpsters and throwing a box filled with food right in the trash, even though there was a group of people living on the streets just a block away.
LAHSA — which received $800 million in public funds this fiscal year — did not provide anyone to speak with the investigative team but did write a statement which said in part:
"There are cases where teams have to bring food back to their headquarters because not all of the people they encounter will accept them."
LAHSA claims they give excess meals to shelters, but admit they discard meals because the meals are perishable. However, while the food was perishable, outreach teams were seen putting boxes in cars and driving around for hours without any refrigeration.
"You know I think LAHSA owes an explanation," said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a critic of LAHSA who says she does not believe the organization's explanation.
"When you look at what's in there — an apple — that'll be good the next day," she said. "Who throws a cookie away? Right there that pisses me off."
Andy Bales, the head of Union Rescue Mission, which serves 2000 meals every day to their homeless guests, was heartbroken when he saw the video of LAHSA employees dumping food.
"People are hungry, out on the streets and need to be fed and none of us should be wasting any food," said Bales.
The mission also said LAHSA never offered excess food to them.
The county has already begun the process of breaking up LAHSA and starting a new agency that would tackle the homelessness crisis.
🚨👇 RELATED NEWS where's the fake shocked emoji? 👇🚨
The Commie globaist Democrats don't give a crap about how our taxpayer money is spent.
CBS News Los Angeles published May 24, 2022: Leaders demand answers after CBS 2 investigation reveals food for homeless thrown away. CBS2 Investigative reporter David Goldstein gets reactions from City Attorney Mike Feuer and Mayor Eric Garcetti after a CBS2 Investigation found workers with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority throw food meant for the homeless into dumpsters.
CBS News, Los Angeles local
written by Staff
Tuesday May 24, 2022
A CBS2 investigation captured video of employees with the Los Angeles Homeless Services throwing food meant for the unhoused straight into the dumpster. Now local leaders are demanding their own investigation.
"I was outraged when I saw your piece," Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer told CBS2 Investigative Reporter David Goldstein.
The CBS2 Investigation showed outreach workers with LAHSA tossing cases of food, packages with a sandwich, an apple and water, into the trash.
"Here, there's food, and it's being thrown in the trash? That's what appeared to be the case from watching your report. That's outrageous to me," the city attorney said.
For months, CBS2 Investigates watched as LAHSA employees would pick up food every morning to give to the thousands of homeless in communities around the city, using it as a way to try and convince those less fortunate to accept services and housing.
However, some of the workers are seen on camera going to Target, Starbucks and McDonalds, handing out some of the food, but sometimes driving around for hours and passing homeless along the way.
Then, CBS2 cameras caught workers taking the cases of food out of their cars and throwing them in dumpsters.
LAHSA admitted that they do discard meals because they're perishable, but Feuer wrote a letter to LAHSA demanding answers.
"Let's say all of it would expire that night, there are people that night who are looking for decent food," Feuer told CBSLA.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti also said he was concerned about what he saw in the CBS2 investigation and is now asking LAHSA how this could happen.
"If there's food that is perfectly good that's being thrown away, that's unacceptable," Garcetti told CBSLA.
When asked for comment, LAHSA said they have not yet received the city attorney's letter, but said they will of course respond to the city.
Advocates for the homeless were in disbelief when they saw the footage of employees dumping cases of food meant for the unhoused.
"To see that much waste coming from the county and LAHSA — it's just unexplainable," said Daniel Conway.
Conway is part of the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which sued the city and county over the handling of the homeless crisis.
"It was heartbreaking," he added. "There [are] so many families in need of food, I can't imagine how there's a single wasted meal in Los Angeles."
While LAHSA said that they throw food out because it's perishable, critics like Conway said there are plenty of places, such as schools, food banks and shelters, that would have accepted the food.
"To the extent that there's ever any leftover food at the end of the day," he said. "Donate it to local schools. Donate to food banks, shelters — there are so many places but to see it end up in a dumpster is hard to understand."
I will post details in a separate post.
UPDATE 5/27/22 at 4:02pm: Added info below.
#LA spending up to $837,000 to house a single #homeless person while its Councilmembers are paid the highest salaries of any council nationwide. https://t.co/DicAzOTMhr
— "Real Estate Journeys" (@CarlMuhlstein) February 24, 2022
.@MayorOfLA's FY22-23 HOMELESSNESS BUDGET: $1,163,077,204 🏠
— Kenneth Mejia, CPA (@kennethmejiaLA) April 25, 2022
HIGHLIGHTS:
• $71M for Encampment Sweeps
• $8M for LAPD
• $32M for LAHSA
• $415M for Prop HHH PSH
• $130M for Homekey PSH
• $255M for Homekey Rnd 2@heidimarstonLA, Exec Director of @LAHomeless, resigned today.
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