Food.

For thousands of Angelenos, getting the next meal means cruising soup kitchens and seeking out public aid

WHEN your income is $15,000 a year or less, shopping for food is not as easy as pulling out a credit card. It requires meticulous planning, with little room for error.

Mondays, for example, are crowded at pantries all over Los Angeles with people who didn't get enough food over the weekend. Wednesdays have the best selection of the once-a-week pantries. The beginning of the month is crowded, as that's when many low-income people receive once-a-month food allotments. When it comes to the food itself, most any kind is welcome.

On a recent morning, a group of people getting food from the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church's pantry in the Mid-Wilshire area described how they navigate the system.

"There's no such thing as 'best.' The only thing is whether you get more here or more there," said Roscoe Scally, a middle-aged man sporting an old Army-style fatigue jacket and a baseball cap over his graying hair.

"When you have a 7-year-old and he says, 'Daddy, I'm hungry,' the best food is any food I can get him to put in his stomach," agreed Andrew Chevall, who was joined by his wife, Sondra.

Scally already had been to another pantry before arriving at Emmanuel Presbyterian for the 9:30 a.m. opening. He opened a small, white plastic bag to reveal Mint Chocolate Haagen Dazs ice cream bars, yogurt, salami, cereal and rolls.

"That's a big one," Sondra Chevall said of the allotment.

Scally and the Chevalls keep in their pockets folded lists of pantries' addresses and hours, but mostly they learn where to go through word of mouth. They plan their food collection around getting the kids to school, their jobs (if they're working), bus schedules, and the days and hours that the pantries and kitchens are open.

"We walk, so we coordinate," said Andrew Chevall. "If we're here at 9:30, we know we can get over there (to another pantry) at 11:30."

Where they go also depends on their needs.

"At the pantries, I would say it's more working poor, or at least people who have a place where they can prepare food," said Orlando Ward, a program developer at the Midnight Mission. "Food pantries give canned goods, things that need to be heated or prepared. Soup kitchens are more heavily relied on by people who are homeless."

At least options are plentiful. Social service providers were unable to offer an exact number of pantries and kitchens in the area, as such facilities come and go and many smaller ones may not appear on any list. But it's estimated that more than 1,000 are operating in the L.A. area.

The L.A. Regional Food Bank collects and distributes food to 965 charities throughout L.A. County, from the well-known Union Rescue Mission to small, church-run soup kitchens. Doris Bloch, executive director of the food bank, noted a recent increase in the activities of charities for the poor.

Maria DeLoney had never received public assistance, but her job as a preschool teacher barely covered rent and expenses for herself and her two children, ages 2 and 5. With food stamps, she thought she would be able to afford the $400-a-month sitter bills, and she might even be eligible for additional child-care assistance.

Upon arriving at 9 a.m. at the West L.A. public assistance office, DeLoney joined a long line of people waiting to fill out a thick stack of paperwork. More than two hours later, she sat with completed forms in hand, waiting to meet with a case worker who would assess her application.

"I figured it was going to take a long time, but this..." she said, sweeping her hand toward a room filled with scores of people waiting in line and in rows of chairs.

A total of 793,735 L.A. County residents received food stamps in September, many as part of the state temporary assistance program, CalWORKS. The L.A. County Department of Public Social Services spent $51.9 million on food stamp issuances that month, for an average of $65 per person.

DeLoney wasn't sure how much she would receive, if anything at all. But in one respect she was lucky that day. She didn't need to report to work until 2 p.m. and her children were in school, so she didn't need to hire a babysitter. The wait was taking its toll, however, and DeLoney was growing weary.

"I hope it's not going to be the same thing every month," DeLoney said. "If it is, I probably won't come back."