Homeboy Industries is still struggling financially (I’ll get back to that in a minute), but a some very good news was officially announced this past Friday at the downtown LA Ralph’s supermarket.
It seems that the Ralph’s folks were looking for some special products for the deli section of their store on West 9th Street so they approached Homeboy Industries with the idea of distributing some of the homemade salsa made by the organization’s Homegirl Cafe and Catering Service.
(NOTE: Homegirl Cafe’s chief chef, manager and founder, Patty Zarate, is an enormously talented creator of unique recipes, so the Ralph’s people were able to combine a good deed with a really great product choice. Your classic win-win. )
The upshot is that, starting last Friday, both mango and the hotter morita salsa from Homegirl are available behind the downtown Ralph’s deli counter. And if that works out, the idea is that Ralph’s will contract for more products.
Both the Downtown News and the LA Times have more on the story.
The Downtown News reported that even Mayor Villaraigosa dutifully turned up at Friday’s press conference for the new salsa deal, and that, although he liked both sauces, he preferred the morita “because it’s hotter.” (I do too.)
It was definitely nice to know about the mayor’s salsa preferences. But I wish some enterprising reporter from either the Times or the Downtown News had asked the mayor why—after his office has repeatedly promised cash-strapped Homeboy Industries $340,000—last time I heard, no money has yet materialized. (Actually the mayor’s office originally promised $500,000, but why quibble?)
By the way, I just noticed that NPR’s Mandalit del Barco recently did a very nice interview with Homeboy Industries’ director and founder, Father Greg Boyle. For those of you who have never seen or heard Father Greg speak, it would be worth your time to click here and listen. Because of the nature of the show she was doing, Mandalit came at the interview from a faith based direction, but Greg went somewhere else with it.
At the time that the interview had occurred, he had just come back from officiating at his 168th funeral for a young person that he knew and liked shot to death in the streets of LA because of gang violence. In this instance the kid was one of the Homeboy bakers. This was very much on his mind as he talked.
(photo from Eric Richardson’s photostream on Flickr)
Paul Newman’s distributor better watch out for the Homegirl’s. This sales approach is smart.
Regarding hot sauces, I saw one that must be the hottest. It’s called “Scorned Woman.”
The mayor will show up anywhere, if the cameras will be there to take his picture.
Let me start by saying I have a lot of respect and admiration for Father Greg. I hope he will forgive me for a slightly irreverent post.
What if Father Boyle opened up a ‘Homeboy’s Industries Pot Shop?’
We all know that the pot shops are making money hand over fist. A recent robbery at one store on Melrose netted $30k in cash for the robbers, and that’s a day’s sales. Imagine, $30k a day for Homeboy Industries from doing what the pot shops do?
Security wouldn’t be a problem as former gangmembers would make excellent security guards.
The former flood plain of the Los Angeles river to the east of Homeboy Industries’ HQ is rich in alluvial deposits and would make an excellent grow, ensuring high quality, insecticide free pot.
We would keep jobs in Los Angeles and create a steady flow of income for Homeboy Industries. I mean, if pot shops are legal (as many here advocate) then why not?
What great news!!! Homegirl Cafe and Catering Service definitely needs support from Ralphs and other stories. Hopefully this will get them the media and attention they need. What a great cause. we need more support for local talent and social causes like this.
That is good news. From you book, it certainly seems like Home[boy|girl] Industries is a positive benefit to society.
However, when it comes to cash from the government, there’s always issues – especially in these very tight times. Who does the Mayor take the money away from?
John Moore is right on this one: with even maintaining LAPD’s numbers very dicey (the Times etc report Garcetti believes he has finally secured a bare council majority to do so), while the union’s still in negotiations as are the firefighters; and with many people wary of gang programs after the recent scandals and allegations of misuse of funds and active gangbangers working both sides of the fence, too many among the general public can’t distinguish between a program like this and some of the others. But I too think this is a great idea and hope other Ralphs stores pick up the salsa. (A tv report I saw said that until they meet certain FDA standards, it can only be sold in the deli section which is more cumbersome and restricts expansion.) (Wonder why they can’t sell the breads? If that’s also an FDA issue?)
John, reasonable question. But fortunately, nobody has to come up with the money. It’s already allocated. It was money left over from a 2003 DOJ gang violence reduction program grant. In other words, it has to be used for some program like Homeboy.
Plus the mayor has $24 MILLION a year in city money that is specifically set aside for gang prevention and intervention. (But that’s all going elsewhere to much less proven programs who server a tiny fraction of the people that Homeboy serves—if that. Mutter, mutter. Rant, rant, rant.)
(Yes, I do realize I’m more than a bit of a broken record on this.)
WBC, the stuff you mention is exactly why the city needs to have maximum transparency along with rigorous evaluation of every gang violence reduction program to which it gives any sizable chunk of money. That was the promise, but……
Don’t know about the breads. Will find out.
Wouldn’t put too much stock in a Salsa eating contest. My father is white as a ghost, and can eat a habenero whole.
Kelvin, if you’re being sarcastic, your point is disingenuous, and I’ll point out why. But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in that you’re honestly asking the question, so here’s my honest answer, as I don’t deal in sarcasm.
As someone who supports legalization of pot, my belief, and most pro legalization folks I talk to agree, is that marijuana should only be used by adults (should be a law), should never be used when or around the time one is operating machinery (should be a law), and should not be used by anyone struggling with addiction, mental illness, or faced with extraordinary or violent circumstances, like trying to get out of the gang life (shouldn’t necessarily be a law, but a standard marijuana advocates should encourage, regardless).
Considering that Homeboy Industries has participants of all ages, not only should they not be involved with dispensing or selling marijuana in any way, it should be illegal for them to do so.
On the other hand, if they were to open a dispensary at a location separate from where there were any underage members, and only have adults running it? It shouldn’t be illegal, but as a marijuana legalization advocate who believes in the ethical consumption and/or sales of the drug, I wouldn’t support it. I’d like to see adults struggling to leave the gang life and/or dealing with hard drug addiction get treated and get their lives in order before they use or become involved with the sales of marijuana.
Hope that helps.
Woody Says:
October 12th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Regarding hot sauces, I saw one that must be the hottest. It’s called “Scorned Woman.â€
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This is depressing, Celeste. I know it’s tongue in cheek but this is the same guy who took a shot at blacks in the Harvey Milk thread. I’ll try back in a few months. Hopefully then you’ll either have this hateful person banned, or under control. All the best.
Look, Geoff. I’m delighted to have you here. And I’m certainly open to suggestions.
But either hang out here or don’t. I’m really not in the mood to be lectured.
Fair enough, Celeste. Good luck with the babysitting. I’ll find a blog on social justice in Los Angeles that’s better moderated. Sorry I bothered. All the best.
I see, Geoff. If I tell you I welcome your presence, and that I also welcome suggestions (in fact I acted on one on the other thread), but I am not fine with condescending lectures (on 2 different threads, I should add)—your reaction is to leave.
But, on your way out the door, you make sure you take a swing at me (but in a really gentlemanly tone, so it’s not supposed to count).
How exactly would you react if the positions were reversed? I’m just curious.
Don’t let the door hit you…
Celeste, I’m not going to take a “swing” at you. Is that what you want? Do you enjoy abuse? Well, you picked the wrong guy, because I’m not into abusing people that ask for it. My instinct is to feel sorry for them, not hit them while they’re down. If you want to make this blog as good as it was a couple of years ago, I’d let go of the self mutilation thing and just start moderating the blog better. Your regular troll “Woody” has drug this thing down into the mud. And, Rob Thomas, maybe you should concentrate on another kind of hit…like the kind that plays on the radio. It’s been about 10 years. It’s 3 am and you have to be getting lonely…
This is a one time warning, Geoff. Come at me one more time and I’ll simply delete you.
Celeste, no problem. I get it. Insulting cultural and ethnic groups are fair game. Insulting you, on the other hand, results in an instant ban.
Ban me if you like. But I’ll leave you with this: Your ego is impeding on your journalistic ability.
Just an FYI. Did you know that the city has not paid any of the GRYD providers since June? What hope is there for those without contracts like Homeboy?
Morgan, no I didn’t know that. Thanks for the info. Geeze. What in the world is going on a city hall?