Opening the Peoples’ Café and Memories of El Monte Art Space

It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally near the finish line! After almost two years of planning and permitting through city bureaucracy, the Memories of El Monte Community Arts Space and Peoples’ Café is set to open in the next couple of months. After receiving generous support from Community Services Unlimited, Inc. and the United Way Prosperity Fund, we have acquired a food truck and began renovations of our physical location. However, we can use extra help in purchasing kitchen equipment, furniture and supplies for our food program. Your contribution will help sustain our work in cultivating the arts and addressing food insecurity.

Since the pandemic, we have been providing support for families in need. Building upon the work of the El Monte Tenants Union, we expanded our food distributions to a biweekly basis in the Klingerman Apartments in which over 150 families receive at least 10 pounds of fruits, vegetables, breads, and meat. Our goal is to expand our food services to include a soup kitchen and provide warm meals for children, the elderly, and houseless populations. We are inspired by the survival programs of the Black Panther Party and the autonomous cooperatives of the Zapatistas. With the threats of cutting school lunch programs and mass deportations, our communities need support now more than ever.

What is the Peoples’ Café?

Peoples’ Café is a project working to address food insecurity through our biweekly food distributions. We also look to reintroduce Native foods through our food truck. Menu items will include the bison, venison, turkey as well as the three sisters: corn, beans and squash. In reflecting our local community, we will include fusion items bringing together Asian and Mesoamerican cultures. The food truck will be hosted at the Memories of El Monte Community Arts Space as well as offering catering and pop-ups throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California.

What is Memories of El Monte?

The Memories of El Monte Community Arts Space is a multifaced community hub serving as a creative outlet providing educational resources to the local community. Over the years, we have provided free art classes, music lessons, creative writing workshops and more. Our work is culturally relevant and trauma-informed as all of our volunteers and practitioners understand the conditions of our communities and live within proximity of our location.