Skip to main content

LAUSD Breakfast Program May End

Support Provided By
Photo courtesy USDA
Photo courtesy USDA

The Los Angeles Unified School District board will decide today whether to continue the Breakfast in the Classroom program, which has faced some criticism for cutting into instruction time and causing some unsanitary conditions at schools.

Parent and union groups have staged a series of rallies in support of the program in recent weeks, saying it provides meals for nearly 200,000 children with the idea that students are more attentive and perform better if they start the day with a nutritious breakfast.

Officials with the Service Employees International Union, meanwhile, have said that canceling the program could threaten the jobs of about 900 cafeteria workers. But serving food to students in classrooms has generated concerns from some teachers who complained about problems such as rotten food and an increase in bugs.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy said he is a strong supporter of the program, and he was confident the school board would vote to continue it.

"The evidence is clear that students who eat healthy food perform better in the classroom," he said. "It is my belief children have a fundamental right to a healthy meal prior to beginning their instructional day."

Deasy said the program also generates money for the district, including about $6 million this year that goes into the district's general fund.

Despite the concerns expressed by its members, United Teachers Los Angeles officials issued a statement saying that while there are "serious problems" with the program, "these problems can and must be overcome so students get a nutritional breakfast and a full instructional day. It is not an either/or for children."

"Of course children learn better when they start the day with a nutritious breakfast," UTLA President Warren Fletcher said. "And every child deserves a full instructional day. One without the other does not make sense."

Support Provided By
Read More
A homeless encampment consisting of umbrellas, tarps, a shopping cart, a washing machine and other debris spills out from the sidewalk and into the street, in front of parked cars.

L.A.'s New Homeless Solution Clears Camps But Struggles to House People

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass launched a homeless program called Inside Safe — and although it has cleared sidewalk encampments and provided some interim housing for those who were living on the streets, it has failed to offer a more permanent solution.
A Latino man with dark hair and a beard gestures with his right arm as he speaks into a microphone at a podium bearing the seal of Los Angeles, while a crowd stands behind him holding signs that read "SANTCUARY NOW" and "ICE OUT OF LA."

L.A. City Takes Next Steps to Officially Become a Sanctuary City for Immigrants

The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion calling on various municipal departments to take the necessary steps for the city to officially become a sanctuary city for immigrants. It would also prohibit city cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (a.k.a. ICE) in "execution of their duties."
A 99-year-old woman wearing a wool wrap and a navy blue hat smiles as she reaches out to touch a younger Latina with dark hair and a purple streak, wearing a dark dress jacket with red dots

Trailblazing Latina Politician Gloria Molina, Upon Her Passing at 74

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who was the first Latina to serve on the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, died this week at age 74.