Sat. Oct 5th, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

Families with students at Los Angeles Unified School District schools will continue to have access to free lunch and breakfast during a planned three-day strike beginning Tuesday.

Two dozen grab-and-go locations, mapped on an LAUSD website, have been set up across the county. Families will be able to pick up six meals per student on Tuesday between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The meals are intended to cover breakfast and lunch during the days that schools are closed.

The strike is being led by Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union to protest alleged unfair labor practices by the LAUSD.

The union, which is seeking a 30% pay raise, represents staff including bus drivers, custodians, aides and cafeteria workers. Members of United Teachers Los Angeles are joining the strike as a show of solidarity.

Beginning this school year, all LAUSD students in grades transitional kindergarten through 12 are provided free breakfast and lunch through the California Universal Meals Program. Café L.A., the food services division of LAUSD, estimates that it serves more than 107 million meals a year.

For a number of students, the school-provided meals are the only nutrition they receive. More than 80% of LAUSD students live at or below the poverty line, according to the Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health.

The following are the grab-and-go locations to pick up free breakfast and lunch for students.

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