The Mountain Empire Unified Faculty District covers greater than 650 sq. miles in Southeast San Diego County. A lot of the realm is taken into account a meals desert, which means residents don’t have entry to recent, wholesome meals.
“We have now simply two or three liquor shops after which one small grocery market,” mentioned Hannah Hong, a mom of two children within the district. “It takes at the least half-hour to get out and get meals.”
In Boulevard, Clover Flat Elementary Faculty college students and their mother and father can now choose up meals twice a month from Feeding San Diego’s college meals pantry.
On the group’s other school pantries, households stroll by means of and select groceries after college. Within the Mountain Empire Unified Faculty District, 97% of scholars take the varsity bus, mentioned Gary Brannon, who directs the district’s scholar companies. Which means the quantity of meals they’ll take house is restricted by what they’ll carry.
He mentioned Clover Flat Elementary has college students go away their school rooms one after the other through the college day to go to the pantry.
“They’re capable of choose what they need, determine what they’ll carry, after which they return to their class,” he mentioned.
Together with recent produce, they attempt to present pre-packaged meals that doesn’t require a lot cooking, since the area can face frequent power outages. On Monday, choices included apples, bell peppers, cans of spaghetti rings and fruit cups.
The district serves a number of unincorporated communities and reservations. Greater than 60% of the district’s college students are eligible without cost or diminished value meals.
Brannon mentioned the meals pantry is one in every of some ways colleges are performing as neighborhood hubs.
“It lets folks know that it is a place you may come for help, whether or not it is meals or training or different companies,” he mentioned. “It is past simply caring for the youngsters. It is caring for our neighborhood.”
Clover Flat Elementary is one in every of two rural colleges with Feeding San Diego meals pantries. There are greater than 60 others within the county and extra colleges on the waitlist.
