#news Fast Fact: Employees of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority were caught on camera throwing away caseloads of taxpayer funded food, that was supposed to be delivered to homeless people.
This as Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t explain where $25 billion in homeless spending went
Employees of the LAHSA were caught on hidden cameras throwing sandwiches, apples, cookies, water and other items straight into dumpsters behind their Panorama City headquarters.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of homeless people are going hungry on the streets of Los Angeles – just blocks away.
The footage was taken during an investigation in 2022.
Some of the crews delivered a few of the food items, but most spent their taxpayer funded shifts driving around and stopping at places like Target, Starbucks, and McDonald’s -while passing by homeless camps without handing out a single meal.
They returned to their office, and unloaded the boxes of food into the trash.
LAHSA oversees billions in federal, state, county, and city funds for homeless services.
When presented with the evidence, It decided to defend its employees – instead of taking accountability – claiming the food was perishable and homeless people didn’t want it.
However, the investigation found that no refrigeration was used during hours-long drives, and shelters like the Union Rescue Mission said they never received any “excess” food.
Critics say this is one of many examples of how LA’s homelessness industrial complex isn’t helping the homeless – instead funneling tens of millions, even billions of taxpayer dollars into programs that disappear the money instead of delivering results.
California has the highest homeless population in the nation at 181,000.
LAHSA’s budget for fiscal year 2025 topped $915 million, with Los Angeles taxpayers contributing over $320 million—much of it passed through to contractors with little oversight.
For 2026, the county is allocating $908 million in homeless funding,
