It's been a few years since we last heard from Mike Learakos, a long-time volunteer and the CEO of the nonprofit Abound Food Care in Orange County.
While much has been accomplished during that time, unfortunately, many families still struggle to put food on the table due to rising food costs.
Thankfully, we have people like Learakos who work hard every single day to ensure families are fed. He tells Heroes Host Heather Jordan, "Abound Food Care started as 'Waste Not OC' and was originally just the idea if we could recover all the excess food, we could theoretically end hunger."
L-R: Mike Learakos (Abound Food Care co-founder), Dr. Eric Handler (former Public Health Officer - County of Orange) and Abound Board member Mark Lowry (Director - CapOC / OC Food Bank)Abound Food Care and Mike Learakos
He said 30 to 40% of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted, and roughly one in seven individuals identify as food insecure, so he believes "it would just seem to be a perfect fit to be able to take that excess food and get it to those in need through nonprofit organizations."
Over the years, alliances have expanded, networks have grown, and lots of people have been helped, but there's still a serious food shortage.
Presenting a check from Angels Baseball Foundation to Laguna Food Pantry. L-R: Cynthia Carson (Laguna Food Pantry Board member), Mike Learakos, Suriya Khan (Laguna Food Pantry), Dennis Kuhl, Chairman (Los Angeles Angels), Anne Belyea, CEO Laguna Food Pantry).Abound Food Care and Mike Learakos
With national Hunger Action Month in September right around the corner, Learakos says now is the time to step up and help out.
"We still have so far to go in changing the narrative. Go to the food bank, go to your nonprofit agencies in your neighborhood, and ask to volunteer, ask to help out," Learakos said. "We should all be very proud of Southern California because we're starting to come together as a region [and] it's limitless what we can accomplish if we just work together."
Mike Learakos and his wife Joyce LearakosAbound Food Care and Mike Learakos
Born and raised in SoCal, Learakos says he's proud to be associated with the Orange County Hunger Alliance, a coalition of many different people and organizations that don't just fight waste; they work on providing overall health and wellness for everyone in our community.
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