American Red Cross Working To Provide Plant-Based Options In Shelters

American Red Cross has said that it is working to ensure plant-based food options are available to people in emergencies.

The nonprofit humanitarian organization has published a video titled “The Importance of Serving Plant-Based Foods During Disasters.” American Red Cross is working with partners such as Plant Based Treaty to ensure plant-based options are widely available.

“A lot of people are eating plant-based for whatever reason,” said Samantha Lau, a campaigner for Plant Based Treaty, in the video. “Could be dietary reasons, could be allergy, it could be lactose intolerance, religious reasons – for whatever reason that people choose to eat plant-based, we just want to make sure that they have access to it.”

Nigel Holderby, the assistant director of external relations at American Red Cross, said that she can find it “very difficult” to find options as a plant-based person with food allergies.

“Having that as part of what we’re building into the core of our food service means that we’re serving more people and we’re meeting them where they are,” explained Holderby. “We’re part of a network, we’re part of this response community. So just being able to provide our local restaurants here with the access to people to provide things that they need, I think is another avenue for the Red Cross to be part of the community response.”

Lau noted that in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, some of the people sheltering at Pasadena’s convention center were initially unable to access plant-based options. However, Plant Based Treaty stepped in and made plant-based food available to those who needed it.

Extreme weather in Los Angeles

Photo shows Samantha Lau, a campaigner for Plant Based Treaty, working with volunteers to provide plant-based meals at an American Red Cross shelter — American Red Cross / YouTube The American Red Cross is working with Plant Based Treaty

American Red Cross is continuing to support the victims of Los Angeles’s enormous wildfires, which displaced thousands of Californians across the region. The Palisades and Eaton fires alone burned down around 40,000 acres of land and over 15,000 buildings.

On Tuesday of this week, fire authorities issued further evacuation warnings ahead of expected heavy rain and mudslides in the area, including in the Palisades neighborhood.

According to a report by UCLA researchers, the scale and severity of California’s wildfires is linked to the climate crisis. A separate study – published in the Journal of Climate earlier this month – suggests that California’s increasingly heavy rain and winds are also in keeping with broader predictions about the climate crisis and frequent, extreme weather events.

“One of the biggest changes that we’re seeing across the country is that people want to help,” said Holderby. “We’ve seen an outpouring of local volunteers that raised their hands, they want to be part of the response, they want to help their neighbors, and I think there’s a healing in engaging our local community as part of the response and the recovery that’s coming.”