The Leadership Manhattan Beach Class of 2023 has announced its project to create a food pantry at Richstone Family Center to support single parent families.

Partnering with the Richstone Family Center, Trader Joe’s, and the Single Mom Project, Leadership Manhattan Beach aims to transform an existing space at the Richstone Family Center into a nutrition pantry to include shelving and a refrigerator.

The group's stated goal is to increase the number of families the facility can serve weekly to 50 single parent families, more than double the number currently served. The pantry will provide storage space for both perishable and non-perishable foods and other meal preparation items.

Community members are invited to make a tax-deductible donation of any size by March 30 at https://www.leadershipmb.org/class-project/. 

The Single Mom Project was created in 2020 by Manhattan Beach's Janet Jones, along with her (now grown) sons. The Single Mom Project has partnered with the Richstone Family Center to give cash grants to low-income, hard-working single mothers whose families are clients at Richstone.

The Richstone Family Center is a nonprofit that is dedicated to treating and preventing child abuse and trauma; strengthening and educating families; and preventing violence in families, schools, and communities.

Leadership Manhattan Beach has helped create civic awareness and leadership opportunities in Manhattan Beach since 1991. In addition to providing each class access and interaction with the various governmental departments of the city, each year the group designs and executes a capstone project to enhance the area.

Past Leadership Manhattan Beach projects have included a community mural painting, refurbishing the Manhattan Beach Santa Float, installing bicycle fix-it stations, and equipping Manhattan Beach Police Department vehicles and strategic businesses throughout the community with Automated External Defibrillators.