Families Trek to the Mall for Free Easter Baskets

Families traveled for hours on city buses to get to Fallbrook Mall on Friday, but the donated Easter baskets made the journey worth it, they said.

It took Susana Gaspar and her four children an hour and 45 minutes on two buses to get to the mall from North Hills.

“They invited us, and I wanted [my children] to have a little fun and a little outing,” said Gaspar, 30.

Several low-income families received free baskets filled with candy and grocery bags of food as part of “Operation Bunny Basket,” organized by the mall and the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council. They and other visitors to the mall also had their photo taken with the Easter bunny.

Volunteers planned to deliver baskets and bags of donated chickens, hams and canned goods to more than 100 needy Valley families, said Ileene S. Parker, assistant director of the interfaith council.

The goods were donated by local companies and mall tenants, she said.

“For some of the families, this is the only way Easter is going to come to their homes,” Parker said. “It makes them feel other people really care, that they’re not invisible. And it gives them hope. Every parent wants their child to have whatever every child has.”

Maricela Garcia, 29, said her family would benefit from the donations. She and her 10-year-old daughter, Cynthia, took 2 1/2 hours to travel on a bus from North Hollywood.

“It’s good to have an Easter basket,” Cynthia said.