After a hugely successful turkey giveaway over the weekend, Tito Rodriguez—known as the Hood Santa—founder of the Local Hearts Foundation, organized another Thanksgiving food giveaway for families in need, Wednesday afternoon.
The idea was to give families who couldn’t make it to Rodriguez’s annual Diamond Supply Company turkey giveaway last Saturday, one last opportunity to take home all they would need to make a Thanksgiving Day meal.
“It was last minute, but there’s still people in need,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what this whole season is about, we just want to help.”
More than 150 grocery bags filled with canned goods, pantry staples and fresh fruits were handed out to passersby and families who drove up in their cars on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Drive. About 15 families also took home a whole turkey that Martin Luzanilla, owner of the soon-to-open Mexihanas Hibachi Grill, had purchased for the drive.
“Both Tito and I come from the 6th District,” Luzanilla said, explaining why he wanted to host the giveaway at his restaurant. “This is our hood.”
