LA Unified distributes 124K meals for students amid three-day strike, school closures
BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With tens of thousands of workers for Los Angeles Unified on strike and schools closed, a variety of community resources were made available to lighten the burden for parents and students.
At the top of the list was a free meal, which is a key resource for students who rely on school lunches.
The district announced 124,596 meals were distributed on Tuesday, the first day of the strike.
The district is broken up into four regions - north, east, south and west. Region east has the most schools across the district. It has 256 schools, most are in low-income communities.
"I happened to come by to pick up some food for my kids. It helps a lot. You know, I am on a fixed income and times are hard right now," said Robert King, an LAUSD parent.
Twenty-four grab-and-go food sites opened across the county. Parents were given six meals per student to cover for the next three days while schools were closed.
Even in the rain, parents showed up by foot or by car at the Evergreen Recreation Center in Boyle Heights. These meals are sacred for Alfredo Jimenez, whose wife called out of work for three days to care for their kids.
"It's almost been a week's loss of work. And this is at least helpful. Right now everything is expensive. Groceries went up," said Jimenez.
Among other resources available during the school closures was student supervision. Over 200 district, city and county park and recreation sites opened for parents to drop off their kids.
Ethan Valenzuela, a student at El Sereno Middle School, volunteered with his mom at a food distribution site.
"It kind of sucks that school is out. But at the same time being here to do something related to schools and helping those who rely on the schools feels great," said Valenzuela.
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