As we usher in 2024, we are filled with anticipation, joy, and gratitude. This year marks the beginning of the expansion of Project Angel Food’s facilities, including major renovations to our existing building. This project will culminate in 2027 with the opening of The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus, a two-building, 30,000-square-foot beacon of hope and healing for critically ill individuals. This expansion will double our size, triple our capacity, enhance client and nutrition service collaboration, provide new spaces for volunteers and community outreach, and introduce a research and policy institute to advance our life-saving work in the "food as medicine" space.

Reflecting on 2023, we celebrate Project Angel Food’s pivotal role in providing medically tailored meals to those at the intersection of health, financial, and food insecurity. Our impact has been profound, both in Los Angeles and nationally.

In March, CEO Richard Ayoub and a delegation from Project Angel Food traveled to Washington, D.C., advocating for increased access to medically tailored meals for Americans battling critical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, kidney failure, and other life-threatening conditions.

April was a milestone month with the delivery of our 16-millionth meal since our founding in 1989 by Marianne Williamson. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass volunteered for the occasion, highlighting our role as a lifeline for many facing tough choices between rent, groceries, or medicine. We also celebrated our Circle of Angels donors with an exclusive garden party featuring a performance by David Archuleta, who joined the Circle of Angels that day. To learn more about becoming a Circle of Angels member for $125 a month, click here or email Jared Ross at jross@angelfood.org.

We honored our nearly 4,000 volunteers in April and hosted our Spring 2023 Client Advisory Board meeting. Our clients provided invaluable feedback during a dinner prepared by Chef Angel Cope, received health and nutritional information, and toured the Project Angel Food kitchen. A similar gathering was held in October.

June was a month of pride and celebration. Ana Gasteyer, Chef Stuart O’Keeffe, and CEO Richard Ayoub joined volunteers and staff for WeHo Pride and a week later, Jai Rodriguez joined us for L.A. Pride. The month concluded with our fourth annual Lead with Love television event sponsored by City National Bank which aired on KTLA. Hosted by Stephen Weber, Jessica Holmes, Loni Love, and Alec Mapa, the two-hour fundraising special featuring appearances by over three dozen celebrities including Lily Tomlin, Cindy Crawford, Niecy Nash, Paula Abdul, Martin Sheen, Noah Wyle, Pentatonix, Marie Osmond, and others.

August allowed us to go public with our ambitious $51 million plan to double the size of our facilities into what will become the 30,000 square foot, two-building, The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus. Celebrities, trustees, and donors, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Marianne Williamson, and Chuck Lorre gathered for a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony. For more information about how you can join our expansion efforts, please contact Campaign Director Bill McDermott at bmcdermott@angelfood.org. Later that month, we welcomed California Senator Ben Allen to the Project Angel Food kitchen, marking our historic 17 millionth meal.

September brought the return of our premiere event The Angel Awards Gala, which was last held in 2019 due to COVID. Mary Fisher received the 2023 Angel Award, Sheryl Lee Ralph was bestowed the first-ever Legacy Award named in her honor, and Jewel performed. The following month, “Halloweenie 17: Rockstar,” a dance party with a purpose, was a resounding success, raising a record $200,000 for Project Angel Food.

In November, we partnered with SoCal Gas to provide care packages for our clients who served in the military on Veterans Day and dedicated a star in front of our building in honor of George Michael. The month concluded with our Thanksgiving initiative, delivering over 5,000 meals throughout the week.

Of course, our crowning achievement in 2023 was being of service to our often forgotten, critically ill neighbors. This year alone, we delivered more than 1.5 million meals to more than 4,000 unduplicated clients with life-threatening illnesses, who rely on us to give them nourishment, improved health outcomes, hope, and most importantly, love.

How did we measure this year? In five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes? At Project Angel Food, we measured it in love. Thank you for being part of our family and for all the support throughout the year with all our seasons of love.