The Brief

Karlen Nurijanyan could barely afford a grilled cheese while he attended Santa Monica College in 2010. Fourteen years ago, there was little support for food-insecure students and a larger stigma for those seeking out basic needs.

In the years since, he has started a nonprofit, Student LunchBox, that delivers fresh produce, canned goods, grains, dairy, meat, and poultry across 10 Southern California community colleges and university pantries, helping students in need get easier access to food.

A 2023 fall survey by the Community College League of California found that nearly half of California community college students are food insecure. Rates have improved by about 3% since 2019 — because of pantries and basic needs offerings.

Alone on minimum wage

Two years after emigrating from Armenia with his family in 2008, Nurijanyan enrolled at SMC. He lived alone, without a vehicle and surviving on minimum wage. While financial aid covered some expenses, he found himself constantly looking for his next meal.

“I was only making $11 an hour,” said Nurijanyan of his time in Santa Monica. “The situation got so severe that I would sleep in the middle of my classes so I wouldn't feel the hunger.”

Nurijanyan later found student aid at the university level, citing UCLA’s Co-Op as a monumental step in reaching his basic needs. He graduated from UCLA, got a master’s degree at California State University, Long Beach, and eventually landed a job in human resources. But during the pandemic, he left that career to work at a Trader Joe’s in Westwood.

He saw glimpses of his past: hungry college students looking for their next meal in an uncertain time.

Creating the change

Nurijanyan embarked on his dream and worked to create a nonprofit organization he wished he could have used at his time in community college. He opened Student LunchBox (SLB) in 2019.

Student LunchBox creator Karlen Nurijanyan.

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Courtesy of Karlen Nurijanyan

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Armed with a tent, a couple tables, crates of food, student volunteers, and a good playlist, the nonprofit holds pop-up food distributions at campuses. It also works to destigmatize food and financial insecurity by bringing the distribution process out in the open.

Today, SLB serves around 4,500 students per month across 10 Southern California campuses. And Nurijanyan’s statistics reveal that the need is prevalent; SLB recorded a 58% increase from 2022, with more than 118,000 total visits in 2023.

One of those campuses is Los Angeles Valley College in the San Fernando Valley. Every Thursday, the college has a “Monarch Market” where food is available to not just students, but community members. Tables are set up across the wall of the Campus Center building, with fruits and vegetables piled high in plastic crates. Along with the produce, there are two coolers filled with meat, dairy, and chicken, and three racks off to the side stuffed with canned goods, oil, and grains.

The line forms almost an hour before the 11:30 a.m. scheduled start time, with people getting their reusable market totes ready.

“I look like I’m over here trick or treating,” said LAVC business major and father of five Christian Guevara as he waited in line with his empty bag. “I mean, it’s a good day today to start out with this positive vibe.”

History major Malik Ervin has been attending the pop-ups since last summer. He said it’s like ‘free groceries every Thursday.’

Sustainability impact

Nurijanyan had no donors in SLB’s early days. He sourced all the food himself, going to the grocery stores and seeing mass amounts of food waste. That is where SLB’s mission statement sprouted: Rescue the “imperfect” food and donate to college students in need.

Food Forward Inc. and the Food Bank of Southern California both provide the organization with produce that would be otherwise wasted from backyard trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and grocery outlets.

While Nurijanyan cannot provide ready-to-eat grilled cheeses to students in need, he can provide the ingredients to make it themselves— for free.

Congrats to Big Bear's celebrity bald eagle couple.

Jackie and Shadow have two new chicks this Easter Sunday. Thousands of fans have been watching their eggs hatch on the popular nest livestream that made the eagles famous.

The first eaglet arrived last night around 9:30 p.m., the second followed around 8:30 a.m.

The nonprofit that runs the livestream, Friends of Big Bear Valley, says dad Shadow showed up after the second hatch and saw his two chicks for the first time.

Mom Jackie is is showing a natural behavior that’s actually a good sign. The nonprofit says she's salivating more — which helps provide electrolytes and antibodies her chicks need.

The two eggs each showed signs of a pip — or first crack — on Friday and Saturday.

Topline:

Why it matters: The new agreement spans four years, as opposed to the typical three-year deal. In a social media post, the WGA said the deal "protects writers’ health plan and puts it on a sustainable path, builds on gains from 2023, and helps address free work challenges."

In a statement posted on its website, AMPTP said, "We look forward to building on this progress as we continue working toward agreements that support long-term industry stability."

Why now: AMPTP and the WGA have been in negotiations since March. The announcement yesterday came a little under a month before the union's current contract was set to expire on May 1.

The backstory: In 2023, contract negotiations broke down between writers and producers, which led to a historic five-month writers strike. That strike ended with the WGA notching huge gains in compensation, streaming residuals and AI protections.

What's next: The tentative agreement still needs to be ratified by the full WGA membership. The union's negotiating committee said union members will receive detailed information in the coming days.

The Hollywood Burbank Airport is advising flyers to arrive at least two hours earlier than usual for the next 60 days because of construction slated to begin Monday.

Road closures: One lane of traffic on the southbound side of Hollywood Way next to Thornton Avenue will be closed during construction. The sidewalk and bike lane on the west side of Hollywood Way between Winona Avenue and Thornton Avenue will also be closed.

When: Construction will occur Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through June 6.

Why: Airport spokesperson Mike Christensen told LAist crews are building a retaining wall as part of Hollywood Burbank's passenger terminal construction project.

Alternatives: Officials recommend passengers use the Empire Avenue entrance or take Thornton Avenue to get to the airport.

While living in L.A., I’d been hearing about this thing — “the desert.” Seemed a bit odd to someone who lived on the Westside next to the ocean, but OK, you can also see mountains from my house, so why not throw in an entire landscape food group?

A few years ago, I figured it was time to try it out, and my family and I headed to Joshua Tree for the weekend.

We began driving east and were soon in that vast no man’s land around the 10 Freeway. On one side, I could see a moving train, with all those boxcars. I was watching, entranced, waiting to see it go past. And it kept going. And going. It was like a vibrant desert serpent, wending its way through the landscape, each boxcar a different hue. It seemed so romantic, and then I thought “in each one, there’s a whole load of hanging car air fresheners, dental floss and Japanese waving cats” and suddenly the spell was broken. Ah well.

The eerie, alien Joshua Tree.

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Sean Gallup/Getty Images,

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Getty Images North America

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As we got nearer, I said “Huh, what's that weird thing that looks like an alien?” and my husband said, “Yes, that’s a Joshua Tree.”

What? Wait, stop the car. There’s an actual Joshua Tree? First, who knew, and second, that is no tree. That, sir, is a weird misshapen cactus, with multiple crooked arms reaching into the air, each with its own spiky fur muff. Kinda like one of those waving inflatable guys if they were static. (Ah, I've been in L.A. too long).

Bougie smores

The vast desert sky.

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Steve Holtzman

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Courtesy Suzanne Levy

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We finally arrived at our destination, a campsite — OK, a glamping campsite, a whole bunch of airstream trailers laid out with firepits. I knew it was bougie when I went to buy a smores kit from the shop and came back with 70% dark chocolate, artisanal graham crackers and single origin marshmallows. (I made that marshmallow one up, but it really is just a matter of time).

We made a fire, marveling at the gorgeousness of the sunset, the morphing colors and the vastness of the sky. I sat afterwards watching the flames, the cold air on my skin, under a blanket of stars. Tears pricked my eyes.

In the morning we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. When we got out of the car, the vista hit me, with that bright, bright sun, strange looking rocky outcrops, and nothing but Joshua trees as far as the eye could see. I thought: I have never seen anything like this. I couldn’t have even imagined something like this. In London, if you go on a day trip, you can go back in time, say to the thatched roofs of the Cotswolds — but not to a different planet.

What an extraordinary continent this is, I think. I am awestruck by its endless, varied landscapes — the plains, the Rockies, the oceans and the forests. And there’s something particular about the desert — its simplicity, its reduction to just three or four elements, which relaxes you, chills you out.

I remember heading back to L.A. after the weekend, happy and mellow, smiling as we drove west into the setting sun. It’s a cliche, but the desert does call you back. And I hope to get back there very soon.