LAUSD to offer students dinner as SNAP benefits are suspended

As the prolonged U.S. government shutdown is set to lead to the November 1 suspension of food stamp benefits, the Los Angeles Unified School District is ramping up efforts to provide meals to students.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a Thursday news conference that supper meals will be made available to district students ages 1 through 18 at most district schools.

"The rumbling stomach of a child will prevent that child from learning. It is not humane; it is not compassionate, we will not stand by it," Carvalho said.

With more than 1 ½ million SNAP recipients in LA County, 217,000 district students depend on those benefits, according to Carvalho.

In the LAUSD school system, free breakfast and lunch are already offered to any student, but now the district is to make supper available at "most of our schools."

A district website lists food resources available to families, and the hundreds of schools where supper will be provided Monday through Friday, no questions asked.

This week, the program kicks off with shelf-stable food products, and beginning next week, cooked food will be available.

Carvalho also noted that the district website provides resources for food assistance to families.

"Political fights should never result in meals being removed from the table of our children," Carvalho said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would deploy National Guard troops to assist food bank operations and fast-track $80 million to keep the state's food banks stocked to ensure SNAP recipients have access to food.