As a child, I experienced hunger and educational scarcity firsthand. While other kids focused on learning, my siblings and I prioritized finding our next meal and a safe place to sleep. Libraries became my sanctuary—providing both warmth and access to educational resources. The holidays were particularly difficult, with joy often feeling just out of reach. These early experiences mirror challenges many Los Angeles families continue to face today—challenges Amazon deliberately addresses through strategic partnerships with local non-profits. Amazon combines financial support, its vast logistics network, and passionate employee volunteers to bring food, educational resources, and holiday joy directly to the communities where our employees live and work.
Today, as Head of Public Policy and Community Engagement for Amazon in Southern California, I apply this lived experience to my work. Amazon’s commitment extends beyond business operations to create meaningful community impact. We recognize that hunger isn’t simply about missing meals—it’s about missing opportunities, potential, and hope. This understanding drives our partnerships with nonprofits like the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, whose commitment to fighting food insecurity aligns with Amazon’s commitment to being a good community partner. Summer 2024 marked our third annual collaboration with ABC7’s Feed SoCal campaign, a powerful collaboration between Amazon and local food banks. Our partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has been outstanding—they share our commitment to operational excellence and innovation. They don’t just distribute food; they’ve built sophisticated systems to maximize impact—identifying needs, optimizing distribution channels, and ensuring dignity for those they serve. During the campaign, Amazon presented the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank with a
$75,000 donation—enough to help provide over 300,000 meals throughout Los Angeles County. Amazon’s Los Angeles operations facilities also led donation collection efforts, with our transportation network providing crucial support. This exemplifies what Amazon does best: applying our operational expertise to solve complex challenges. The results were remarkable. Across California, Amazon’s contributions as part of Feed SoCal helped provide hundreds of thousands of meals, with a significant portion serving Los Angeles communities. But numbers only tell part of the story. The real impact lies in the dignity restored and hope provided to families struggling with food insecurity. Through Amazon’s Community Delivery program, we partner year-round with local food banks such as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to provide free home delivery of food to those facing food insecurity. This program has already provided over 2.3 million meals to California households in 2024 alone—a perfect example of how we overcome transportation barriers that often separate families from available resources.
The impact of Amazon’s partnership is especially significant when considering that a study completed by USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences shows that between April and May 2024, more than 1 in 4 (28.9%) Los Angeles residents dealt with an instance offood insecurity—equivalent to about 955,466 households. By combining direct financial support with our distribution systems, Amazon creates a holistic solution that not only increases food availability but ensures it reaches those who need it most, regardless of their mobility or transportation limitations. Each delivery represents more than just essential fuel for the body—it provides stability that allows parents to focus on work and children to concentrate on learning rather than hunger. Our commitment extends beyond addressing immediate hunger. This past September, Amazon launched a $200,000 back-to-school campaign; including a $25,000 matching gift campaign through DonorsChoose to support teacher projects in South Gate. This campaign was complemented by a grassroots effort from our DAX7 delivery station employees and independent delivery service partners, who gathered essential school supplies for LAUSD’s San Miguel Elementary School. Watching Amazon delivery vans arrive at the school filled with backpacks and notebooks brought me back to my own childhood. I remember what it meant to have the right tools for learning—how something as simple as a notebook could make a child feel worthy of education, worthy of a future. The Amazon-funded projects provided South Gate classrooms with flexible seating, art supplies, classroom libraries, and HEPA air filters—resources that directly enhance students’ learning experience. Teachers now have critical tools to create engaging environments where students can focus on developing skills rather than worrying about basic necessities.
Amazon’s dedication to bringing joy to children extends to the holiday season as well. Last December, we partnered with ABC7, SoFi Stadium, the LA Rams, and the LA County Fire Department for the annual Spark of Love Toy Drive. More than 550 local children toured SoFi Stadium and received toys donated through a community-wide effort. Amazon contributed two vans filled with toys and a $100,000 donation to the drive, with employees at SBD6, Amazon’s AR Sortable Fulfillment Center in Ontario, CA, leading the toy collection efforts. The excitement in children’s eyes as they received their gifts reminded me of how transformative simple moments of joy can be for young people facing challenges. Amazon volunteers from sites across Southern California helped distribute these toys, demonstrating our employees’ dedication to giving back. These educational and community efforts reflect Amazon’s understanding that today’s children are tomorrow’s innovators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. By supporting LAUSD schools and participating in campaigns like Spark of Love, we’re investing in the future of our Los Angeles and creating pathways to opportunity for students who might otherwise face significant barriers to achievement. What makes Amazon’s approach to community engagement different is how we leverage our unique strengths. Financial contributions matter, but another one of our greatest impacts comes from encouraging employees to leverage Amazon resources to support organizations they care about. Through Amazon’s Global Month of Volunteering and our internal volunteering portal, employees can discover local opportunities that fit their schedules, interests, and skills—whether they have a few hours or want to commit to ongoing engagement. My journey from childhood homelessness to my role at Amazon has taught me that sustainable change requires both addressing immediate needs and building systems that create opportunity. Amazon is committed to doing both. The challenges facing Los Angeles are complex. But when Amazon combines resources with non-profits that bring deep community knowledge, we create powerful solutions. My mission is to ensure these partnerships continue to grow, remain authentic to community needs, and create lasting change for Los Angeles families who need it most. Sometimes a meal, a backpack filled with school supplies, or a holiday gift isn’t just addressing an immediate need—it’s offering hope. And in communities across this City of Angels, hope is one of the most valuable packages we can deliver.
David Ambroz is Amazon’s head of public policy and community engagement for Southern California
