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LAUSD will offer dinners to students as government shutdown delays SNAP benefits
With SNAP benefits set to expire Saturday, Los Angeles Unified School District will begin offering dinner to students.
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About 600 Los Angeles Unified schools will start serving supper to offset expected delays to the federal food assistance program.
“The rumbling stomach of a child will prevent that child from learning,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a press conference Thursday. “It is not humane. It is not compassionate. We will not stand by it.”
Carvalho said Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits feed about 217,000 students in the district.
The Trump administration has said it will not tap emergency funds to sustain the program, known locally as CalFresh, during the federal shutdown. That means no payments will be issued in November to the 1 in 8 U.S. residents who participate in the program.
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We’ve compiled a list of resources throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties to help fill the gap as the effects of the federal shutdown linger. -
More than two dozen Democratic state leaders are suing the Department of Agriculture after the Trump administration said it would not use contingency funds to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown. -
The California Department of Public Health, which administers WIC, says it has gotten additional funds from the USDA and expects “to remain fully operational through Nov. 30."
California is among the states suing to keep the SNAP funded. Though federal judges ordered the Trump administration Friday to resume SNAP payments, it's not yet clear what the administration's course of action will be.
Every LAUSD student already can get free breakfast and lunch at their school.
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Now, about 600 schools will provide supper to any child up to 18 years old Monday through Friday, even if it’s not the school they’re enrolled at. An LAUSD spokesperson said schools started serving supper to students Thursday and will open the program to the community Monday.
The meal will be served after dismissal and must be eaten on campus. The district also has set up a website with additional resources and has a 24/7 hotline for families at (213) 443-1300.
The nonprofit that supports LAUSD schools is raising money to support families affected by the loss of SNAP benefits.
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