The numbers of Los Angeles children who need the meals have been rising sharply in recent years. In 2015-2016, 72.4% or 405,338 LAUSD students qualified for the free or reduced price meals, according to a 2017 Food Research Action Center report.
“We have the highest participation of students who are served breakfast in the classroom,” said Monica Garcia, a member of the LAUSD School Board. “Also, most of our schools (75%) are in the Community Eligibility Program, where all students get all meals without charge.”
Other California counties also are experiencing high rates of students who depend on the meals: 74% of students in Fresno County and 71% in San Bernardino County. In each of these districts, Latinos make up the majority of the student population.
In the Los Angeles school district, which is the largest in California and the second largest in the nation, 73.4% of students are Latino, 10.5% white, 8.2% African American and 4.2% Asian. More than 19,500 students experienced homelessness in the 2018-2019 school year, and more than 8,500 lived in foster homes.
Students who depend on school meals by county:
Los Angeles County: (64% Latino) 1,034,525 out of 1,492,735 or 69%
San Bernardino County: (64% Latino) 288,979 out of 403,196 or 71%.
Fresno County: (64.9% Latino) 151,656 out of 204,421 or 74%.
San Francisco County: (31% Latino) 31,718 out of 60,916 or 52.1%.
San Diego County: (48% Latino) 261,450 out of 508,227 or 51.4%.
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