Campus Ministry’s Feed the Hungry, the student-led effort to engage in a concrete social-justice issue, recently received an award from Safe Place for Youth, Loyola Marymount University’s community partner in programming, for “collectively cultivating an environment focused on collaboration and the sharing of ideas; in recognition of the strength of interconnections and partnerships.”
Feed the Hungry, nearing its 28th anniversary, gathers students, staff, and faculty each Thursday year-round in front of Sacred Heart Chapel at 11 a.m. to prepare 60-80 sack lunches. At noon, the lunches are taken to Safe Place for Youth in Venice to serve unhoused transitional youth at the SPY Access Center.
“I believe this award is a culmination of all the previous stewards and myself having a commitment of care and passion for those on the margins, especially those that are food insecure,” said Flor Ordonez, campus minister for Faith, Service, and Justice, who has been coordinator of Feed the Hungry since 2024.
The program grew out of an encounter in 1998 by LMU student Theresa Thibodeaux ’02 and a teenager experiencing food and housing insecurity, according to the program’s website. Thibodeaux recalled, “I began to question what I was seeing, wondering how a country so rich that it guarantees the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness allows this to happen to its very own citizens?” Thibodeaux returned to campus with the desire to do more and the program was initiated.
“It feels good to be recognized for the unwavering commitment that LMU and Campus Ministry with its Feed the Hungry program has had to ensure that our students get to encounter everyone in a way that sparks a greater care for our dear neighbor,” Ordonez said.
She also invited the campus community to join volunteer efforts on Thursdays. Any questions can be directed to Ordonez at flor.ordonez@lmu.edu or 310.338.7597.
