> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Following the can: Chicken soup that warms the soul - URL: https://www.smdp.com/following-the-can-chicken-soup-that-warms-the-soul/ - Published: 2004-02-21T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:51:29.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless *The little can that could* *By JAMIE WETHERBE Special to the Daily Press* A can of chicken noodle soup dropped into a food donation barrel in December finally made to the kitchen cabinet of a Santa Monica woman last month. The can donated by Joe Stitcher, traveled miles throughout the westside before it reached Latrese Chapron Johnson, an out-of-work mother of two. Stitcher, who is the assistant director of transit operations at Big Blue Bus, first dropped the can off at bus headquarters on Dec. 19\. It then traveled two miles away to the Westside Food Bank where it remained for more than a month. Santa Monicans during the winter holidays pitch in extra food for local drives — in hopes these castaway cans would travel to someone else’s belly. When Stitcher donated a 12-pack of chicken noodle soup cans as part of a citywide food drive, he had no idea the soup would pass through two local agencies and a more than $1 million industry to end up about a mile away. The chicken noodle soup in January left the warehouse and continued on its way — another three miles to St. Joseph’s food pantry in Venice. On Jan. 30, some of the cans ended up in the hands of Johnson, who lives about a mile from where the donation cycle began. St. Joseph’s food pantry in 2002 distributed nearly 17,500 bags of groceries and served more than 1,000 families, including Johnson’s, according to St. Joseph officials. The bus company, located on Seventh Street, participates in Santa Monica’s annual food fight, which pits different city departments against each other during the winter holidays to see who can bring in the most food. The Westside Food Bank for more than 20 years has collected donations from several different food drives, mainly during the winter holidays, but “the biggest (food drive) is from the Big Blue Bus,” said executive director Bruce Rankin. “It’s the hectic day of the year,” Rankin said of the initial day the donations are brought in. Food bank workers spent the next few weeks tossing any bad cans, and sorting and packaging the rest of the food, getting ready for the more than 60 Westside social service agencies to pick up the packages. The agencies, including homeless shelters, rehabilitation programs and other services, often request canned tuna, peanut butter and canned vegetables. What isn’t donated is purchased by Westside Food Bank. About $845,000 of the food bank’s almost $1 million budget — built from donations, grants and government funds — goes to buying food for Santa Monica’s hungry, Rankin said. However, the food bank’s purchasing power has decreased by 15 percent since more federal funds are going to Iraq, Rankin said. And while other Santa Monica agencies also dedicate dollars to their own food drives, “none of them could handle a 10,000-pound food drive,” Rankin said. “There are no other food bank warehouses on the westside.” Santa Monica agencies that qualify can pick up food from the food bank warehouse throughout the year and dole it out to residents below the poverty line. Even though the holiday donations have lasted longer than expected, the food will be gone by end of this month, Rankin said. “The need went way up after (Sept. 11),” Rankin said. “Lots of people lost jobs” at the Los Angeles Airport and in other travel-related businesses. Rankin said he’s gearing up to replenish the warehouse with the next annual Westside food drive in May. “The food bank’s been really good to me the past three years,” said Johnson, a single mother of 9- and 13-year-old boys, helping her stretch her family’s income and maintain their nutrition. Johnson said she visits the food pantry once a week for groceries, and the people there help her feel at home. “I’m a very private person,” she said, adding she needs to protect herself and her kids “when I’m not around loving people … People here are like family. Just a beautiful family here.” St. Joseph employees show a lot of effort, Johnson said, adding would like to see the facility grow. “If I ever get rich, I’ll be able to donate,” she said. Johnson said she doesn’t work but plans to go back to school for clothing design. But for that night, Johnson said she would head home — about three miles away — to start dinner early. “(My) boys, they eat,” she said. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/022104-04_03.jpg) of St. (Photo: Photo courtesy) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/022104-04_04.jpg) hauls her donated groceries from St. (Photo: Photo courtesy Latrese Chapron Johnson) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/022104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)