Artward Initiative 501 (c) (3) non-profit: Our Partnership with FoodCycle

Tue, Oct 6 at 6:37 PM

Love My Neighbor
FoodCycle Supports Community Based Solutions to Food Insecurity

FoodCycle is proud to partner with community organizations serving those impacted by food scarcity, like the Love My Neighbor project.

Our food recovery and diversion program works to eliminate the environmental impacts of food waste by rerouting surplus food away from landfills to Angelenos' plates, via neighborhood organizations like Artward Initiative. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we've diverted over 4,000 pounds of recovered food to their Artward Initiative.

Alexey Steele is an American painter, Artist Laureate, Founder of Love My Neighbor and Volunteer of Artward Initiative, which donates art supplies and food relief packages to families in the underserved Scottsdale neighborhood of Carson. Working with the Carson Sheriff's Station Gang Diversion Team and FoodCycle LA, Love My Neighbor distributes produce boxes filled with balanced, nutritional foods.

"I believe that strengthening community bonds by getting to know and love ones neighbors is an answer to many of the difficult issues facing society today"
Alexey Steele

FoodCycle is helping over 100 different community based organizations like this one meet the needs of hungry families in our city. We're proud to support Love My Neighbor's vital efforts in their community.

Support the critical work we're doing - make a donation, or volunteer to help us

Feed People - Not Landfills.

The FoodCycle Team

Summary of Core Organizational Programs and Services

Artward Initiative, a 501 c(3) non profit organization, organizes and conducts cultural and educational projects, public art and social action programs in underserved communities of color that promote cultural diversity and encourage greater understanding among different cultures. Programs are centered around enhancement of community’s quality of life through art, cultural and educational projects. We are focused on public arts education initiatives that contribute to the positive development of underserved young people and young people at risk.

We received grants from Library of Congress Open World Project. Received a grant from the Levitt Foundation to promote classical music through public spaces for everyone to experience the performing arts. Organized and promoted free classical music concerts that reached out to people of all ages and backgrounds, to ensure classical music is accessible to all through high quality, free concerts to strengthen the community and social interaction, the culturally engaged projects that changed the perception of the community through art such as Carson based "Classical Underground". In the last five years we conduct "Love My Neighbor" public art projects in the disadvantaged community of color - "Scottsdale" neighborhood of Carson where we established a non-profit Artward! Gallery "Scottsdale." Provided free art consultations to youth at risk as part of Gang Diversion program. Provided local community with free art education programs. Our focus is art as tool of community turn-around.

In 2017 and 2018 we have received grants from the Wells Fargo Foundation. In 2018 we have received prestigious Cultural Pathways Grant from the California Arts Council to increase the reach of our community outreach projects in the City of Carson. In 2019 we have received grant from the Bank of America Foundation and organized a number of events together with their Better Money Habits team.

For its community building impact, our program, Love My Neighbor Public Art Project in the Scottsdale Neighborhood of Carson, has been authoritatively recognized as a prestigious 2019 California Park & Recreation Society (CPRS) Award of Excellence recipient in the important Creating Community Award of Excellence category.

Over the last years we worked with well recognized community leaders / organizations: City of Carson City Hall, Bank of America Better Money Habits, Mission EbenEzer Community Art Center, the Bridges International Learning Center & International Institute of Tolerance. We presented our programs at the large public events including the LA's iconic Taste of Soul, the City of Carson public events Earth Day, Black History Month, Backpack Giveaway, Hispanic Heritage Day, Community Friendship Day.