Free food is available for students during the strike that will close LAUSD schools

By Jacky On Mar 20, 2023

With Los Angeles Unified schools likely to close Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday due to a strike, many parents might wonder if empty classrooms lead to empty stomachs.

Most of LAUSD’s 420,000 students come from low-income families, many of whom face food insecurity. Every day, the nation’s second-largest school district provides hundreds of thousands of meals to these families. But with support staff who normally pack and serve meals on strike amid long-running contract talks, and teachers joining them in solidarity, the district is finding other ways to provide food.

“We know that when 75% or more of the children in our community live at or below the poverty level, school for them is much more than a good education – it is where they get nutritious meals every day,” she said. LAUSD Superintendent. Alberto Carvalho said on Monday. “I am so grateful that the City of Los Angeles is partnering with us to ensure grab-and-go meals are distributed and students have some degree of normalcy and stability in the event of a strike.”

Meal Options Through LAUSD

As part of LAUSD’s food distribution program, the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department, Boys and Girls Club, and several local cities will host 24 locations to provide grab-and-go meals for students Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. :30 pm am Through this program, families will receive six meals per student to cover breakfast and lunch for three days.

The full list of distribution sites can be found here.

The City of Los Angeles Parks Department will also offer free programs for students in grades one through five on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 30 recreation centers from 7:30 am to 6 pm Lunch and snacks will be provided, as well as assistance with homework and recreational activities. . (A list of participating locations can be obtained.) found here. Registration for the city’s parks program can be done online.)

Food Options Through Los Angeles County

On Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the county Department of Parks and Recreation agreed that 16 parks and two nature centers throughout the county will serve as food distribution centers and childcare and activity centers for children from 7 to 17 years old during the planned strike. Breakfast will be distributed from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

These programs “will serve as a safety net for the many students and families temporarily affected by the potential LAUSD strike,” Norma Edith Garcia-Gonzalez, director of the county Department of Parks and Recreation, said in a news release. .

Here is a list of participating parks and nature centers:

Belvedere Park (4914 E. Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles 90022)
City Terrace Park (1126 N. Hazard Ave., East Los Angeles 90063)
Obregon Park (4021 E. 1st St., Los Angeles 90063)
Saybrook Park (6250 E. Northside Drive, East Los Angeles 90022)
Rubén Salazar Park (3864 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles 90023)
Athens Park (12603 S. Broadway, Los Angeles 90061)
Bethune Park (1244 E. 61st St., Los Angeles 90001)
Helen Keller Park (1045 W. 126th St., Los Angeles, 90044)
Jesse Owens Park (9651 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles 90047)
Earvin Magic Johnson Park (905 E. El Segundo Blvd., Los Angeles 90059)
Roosevelt Park (7600 Graham Ave., Los Angeles 90001)
Ted Watkins Park (1335 E. 103rd St., Los Angeles 90002)
Leon H Washington Park (8908 S. Maie Ave., Los Angeles 90002)
Victoria Park (419 Martin Luther King Jr. St., Carson 90746)
El Cariso Park (13100 Hubbard St., Sylmar 91342)
Crescenta Valley Park (3901 Dunsmore Ave., Glendale 91214)
Deane Dana Friendship Park and Nature Center (1805 W. 9th St., San Pedro 90732)
Stoneview Nature Center (5950 Stoneview Drive, Culver City 90232)

Other ways to find food

He The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has an online tool It helps locate organizations that provide food and meals to those in need. Enter your address, city or zip code and the tool will help you find the nearest food distribution center.

Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon, Central City Community Partners provides hot meals for school-age children in 501 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles 90017. The organization also has a grocery distribution service on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the same location.

The Hollywood Lutheran Church has a community refrigerator in its parking lot and runs a food pantry on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is at 1733 North New Hampshire Ave., Los Angeles 90027.

Bread of Life Foursquare Church (5175 W. Washington St., Los Angeles 90016) runs a food pantry on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Pantry services at the St. Francis Center operate Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The food distribution center is at 1835 S. Hope St., Los Angeles 90015.

The Hollywood Food Coalition offers free grab-and-go dinners every night from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 5939 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 90028.

The Immanuel Presbyterian Church Food Pantry, at 663 S. Berendo St., Los Angeles 90005, operates Wednesday and Friday from 9 am to noon.

St. Agnes Catholic Church runs its food distribution program on Tuesdays from 9-10:30 a.m. at 2625 S Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 90007.