The San Diego Unified School District early this week ramped up its meal distribution program for needy students to make sure they have enough to eat over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
The district began the meal distribution program at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March to help ensure that students eligible for free and reduced-price meals wouldn’t go hungry while school campuses are closed.
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District officials say more than eight million meals have been distributed via 34 school sites throughout the pandemic. The sites were especially busy on Monday and Tuesday, said Sherwin Laroya, a food service supervisor with the district.
“There’s more people coming down for the holidays because we’re closing for the three day period,” said Laroya, who was overseeing distribution Tuesday afternoon at Clark Middle School in City Heights. “We’re giving as much as we can for this week.”
Also, because Tuesday was the last day of food distribution this week, Laroya and his team gave out less perishable meals.
“We have frozen items. We have grilled cheese, we have fruit, milk, cereal for breakfast, and we have dried fruit and fruit cups and all that stuff too,” he said.
The district will resume its regular meal service on Monday, Nov. 30.
