By Lookout Staff

October 5, 2010 -- St. Joseph Center, the nonprofit that offers various services to homeless and other disadvantaged people, recently introduced the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services’ (DPSS) Health & Nutrition Mobile Unit at a ceremony attended by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and other local leaders. According to St. Joseph, the vehicle will make the Food Stamp nutrition program more accessible for low-income families throughout the county by visiting the communities where they live.

Yaroslavsky said at the ceremony that fewer than 50 percent of eligible California households currently access the food stamp program He said the mobile unit should increase that amount by providing better access to the families. The supervisor also said that connecting people to food stamps leads to increased spending at grocery stores.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony and throughout the remainder of the day, DPSS eligibility workers and St. Joseph Center staff took 50 families through the process of registering for food stamps. They were helped by volunteers from the L.A. Jewish Federation.

St. Joseph Center’s Executive Director Dr. Va Lecia Adams said at the event, “We appreciate Supervisor Yaroslavsky’s support on this day when so many people are registering for the food stamp program. The mobile unit will help make sure that many more families have access to this important tool that can help them achieve self-sufficiency.”

St. Joseph Center, based in Venice, serves more than 6,000 individuals every year through a variety of programs. It also operates a thrift store located at 1828 Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica that offers used clothing, furniture and household items. Some donations to the store are used to provide clients with free clothing. For more information, go to www.stjosephctr.org