LocoL

Future chefs start somewhere. And that day, it started at LocoL. 🍕 Alta Community hosted a hands-on cooking class for high school students from South LA, where they learned how to create savory and dessert pizzas, work with ingredients, and experience the power of food firsthand. What may look like a fun afternoon in the kitchen is something much bigger to us. It’s exposure. It’s confidence. It’s possibility. This is what Alta Community is about: creating access, building skills, and investing in the next generation of culinary talent. Thank you to @striveminicampus for bringing incredible students ready to learn and grow. Special thanks to @hollywoodfoodco HollywoodFoodCo for providing the guest chef experience, @superiorgrocers for helping make the day possible with their generous sponsorship, and @chefcollinleaver for leading the class and pouring into the next generation. 🤝🏾

Special menu item tomorrow only. Berry French toast. $5, all day. Part of LocoL’s $5 Community Meals program, supported by Rising Communities and First 5 LA Best Start Region 2.

Real community work is rooted in collaboration. We’re proud to partner with @MudTownFarmsWatts — a 2.5-acre urban farm and community wellness space in the heart of Watts — to bring fresh, locally grown produce directly into our kitchen at @welocol . Through this partnership, we’re not just serving meals, we’re serving nourishment sourced from the community, for the community. Developed by the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), MudTown Farms is doing the work — creating access to healthy food, providing job training, and holding space for wellness and growth. This is what it looks like when ecosystems are built with intention.

Today is about showing up for our community. Raising Communities and First 5 LA Best Start proudly sponsored today’s free community BBQ at @welocol — bringing families together through food, connection, and care. This gathering is part of a bigger mission: building awareness around our community kitchen and the upcoming cooking classes designed for families with children under 5. Because when we invest in families early, we strengthen generations. Thank you to everyone who came out, shared a meal, and stood with us. This is how community is built.

Since 2015, @chefdanielpatterson has been showing up for this community, no spotlight needed. Now he’s back in the kitchen, teaching the next generation through Alta Community. This is bigger than food.

At LocoL, giving back starts in the kitchen. Chef Keith Corbin spent time mentoring and training the next generation, passing on not just technique, but discipline, pride, and purpose through food.

WE ARE HERE! $5 meals for the community. Wednesday-Friday, 11am-2pm. Every week.

LocoL menu, Dec. 17. Meals for the community, Wednesday-Friday. $5 donation, or pay what you can. To buy a meal for someone in the community, please donate at the link in bio!

For the community, at LocoL today. Beef chili, cornbread, and prickly pear-orange agua fresca. Chicken gumbo and red chile pork stew also on the menu. Come through! Open now until 2:30pm (or until we run out). Every $5 donated provides one meal for the community: /ED0l6H

We’re back, and opening our dining room with a refreshed purpose. LocoL is welcoming the community again this week with hot meals offered on a pay-what-you-can basis. Everyone deserves a good meal this holiday season, and no one will be turned away. Join us Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 2pm. If you’re in a position to give, please consider sponsoring a meal. Each plate costs about $5, and your support helps us feed even more neighbors. Donation link in our bio and below 💜 /ED0l6H

Recap from our LAUNCH celebration with our youth in Long Beach! 🎊 What a memorable evening it was! We can’t wait to see and celebrate our next event together!

2024 was a year! The reopening was special and we are very grateful to be serving the community again. As we think back on the year and what we accomplished we want to acknowledge everyone who helped us along the way. Thank you for everyone who wrote about our efforts, especially @eater_la and @latimesfood . We were so surprised and grateful to be included by @bill_addison and @jenn_harris_ in the @latimes #101bestrestaurants list! Thank you!! Thank you @sixdegreesla for launching our socials! Thank you to @heatherhuttca , @mhdcd8 , @wellsfargo for your financial support. Thank you to @yowatts_ysc for collaborating with us to find youth who we could train. Thank you to our team @altarestaurant , whose support was crucial in allowing us to reopen. We learned a lot in the first six months, from building relationships with other non-profits to operational procedures to fundraising strategy. Our foundation is very new, and we have a lot of work in front of us, and many challenges to solve. We are going to close @welocol for winter break while we raise more money, find an Executive Director, and build a strategy to expand our programming. In 2025 we want to grow our training, as well as adding food insecurity programs where we can feed more of the community. We’ll be back in a few months, stronger and more organized. Until then, happy new year to everyone! We hope that 2025 brings you peace and joy 💜💜💜 Love, Keith and Daniel