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Julia Escobar

Marina del Rey offers the closest Grab & Go location to Venice.

Earlier today, the Grab-N-Go that serves Venice High and other Westside schools had distributed around 700 meals by 9:30 a.m. and drivers in a long line of cars were still waiting to get food at the Marina Del Rey Middle School location. LAUSD has created 60 Grab-and-Go locations where any student and their family can receive free meals from 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. on weekdays.

With the spread of the COVID-19,  all LAUSD schools have closed completely to help #flattenthecurve. Yet students don’t only rely on schools for education, but also for food. 

These Grab-and-Go locations opened Wednesday, March 18, and will continue every weekday until schools are reopened. The closest locations to Venice High School are Marina Del Rey Middle School and Palms Middle School. 

 LAUSD serves about 1 million meals to students every single day. And with 80% of students being low-income,  many students are being affected by school not being in session.

 “A lot of our communities rely on the food that students get in school,” said Dr. Travis Brandy, Director of Secondary Instruction for West LA Community of Schools, “So even though school is not in session right now, we still want to be able to provide those healthy meals that students would normally receive in school.”

In a tweet by Superintendent Austin Beutner, he reassures the public that these locations will remain open even while Los Angeles is on “Stay at home” orders.

On the first day of the Grab-N-Go meals, the Marina Del Rey location distributed around 500 meals. Yesterday, March 19, they distributed around 1,000 meals.

“Everyone has been very thankful,” said Dr. Brandy. “We even got a really nice handwritten card, and someone brought us pan dulce and cafe. People are very appreciative of the effort we are making out here.”

Below is a link to find a Grab and Go location closest to you.
Grab-and-Go locations

Several Los Angeles businesses have partnered together to sponsor a donation campaign which as of April 2 had already raised $1.6 million to underwrite the meals and other support for LAUSD students.

To donate, click here http://LA Students Most in Need