San Diego Unified Distributes Extra Meals To Students Ahead Of Holiday

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Above: The San Diego Unified School District headquarters is shown on March 19, 2020.

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.

Aired 11/25/20 on KPBS News

Listen to this story by Joe Hong.

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.

The rise of COVID-19 cases in San Diego is part of a pattern being seen statewide and that will put increasing strain on the health care system in coming weeks. Meanwhile, San Diego County public health officials reported a record 1,546 COVID-19 infections Tuesday, along with 16 additional deaths. Also, as the pandemic rages, teachers are struggling to get time ... Read more →

Aired: November 25, 2020 | Transcript

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Joe Hong
Education Reporter

opening quote marks closing quote marks As an education reporter, I'm always looking for stories about learning. My favorite education stories put a student's face on bigger policy issues. I regularly sift through enrollment data, test scores and school budgets, but telling student-centered stories is my top priority.