Media Advisory from the San Diego Unified School District, Aug. 10, 2017
San Diego Unified Teams with American Idol Star & Teen Startup to Help Ease Student Meal Debt
WHAT: San Diego Unified Food & Nutrition Services is partnering with the School Lunch Fairy and American Idol alum Dalton Rapattoni and friends to raise funds to help pay off student meal debts and ensure students stay well-nourished at school. San Diego kids and families will get a free preview of the musicians evening concert with a mini-concert at Allied Gardens Park & Recreation Center during a Summer Fun Café BBQ, where the families can also receive a free barbecue lunch.
WHEN: Friday, August 11; 8-10 a.m. (Available for interviews/live set-up shots); Noon (Mini-concert performance and BBQ)
WHERE: Allied Gardens Park & Recreation Center, 5155 Greenbrier Ave, 92120
INTERVIEWS: Representative from San Diego Unified, representative from School Lunch Fairy, musicians - Dalton Rapattoni, The House On Cliff, and Lauren Carnahan.
VISUALS: Live performance from Dalton Rapattoni, The House On Cliff band, and Lauren Carnahan; students receiving free meals and watching concert.
BACKGROUND: Hungry kids can’t learn. That is why San Diego Unified is committed to helping ensure all students have access to nutritious meals at school. As part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, qualifying students may receive free or reduced-price meals. Keeping the high cost of living in San Diego into account, the district helps families on the edge by waiving the reduced price fee, thereby allowing those students to eat for free. Also, 89 district schools qualify under Community Eligibility Provision and Provision 2, which allows all students who attend those schools to receive a nutritious breakfast and lunch every day at no cost.
Unfortunately, there are families just on the edge of the income qualifications that do not qualify for free meals on paper, but in reality need assistance paying for meals for their kids. We do not want any students to fall through the cracks and go hungry, that is why the district is taking the unique approach of partnering with School Lunch Fairy to solicit the support of the community to raise funds to help students who need assistance in paying for school meals.
Dalton Rapattoni, The House On Cliff , and Lauren Carnahan are making a stop in San Diego for their summer tour across 18 cities. The tour will be helping School Lunch Fairy raise funds and increase awareness about the issue of lunch debt.
Inspired by a report on NPR news about school lunch shaming, Christian Cordon-Cano and Bernardo Hasbach, both high school juniors in Florida, launched School Lunch Fairy to raise funds to help kids pay for school lunch. In just a few months, they rose over $10,000 and have donated to schools in California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, and Washington. “But we won´t stop there,” says Christian Cordon-Cano, adding that “our objective is to help kids in every state in the country.”
“That´s why we are so excited to help School Lunch Fairy raise funds. These teen-agers rock.” says William Santana, bassist for The House On Cliff, adding “I’ve seen how hard it is for someone to skip a meal or two at school because you don't have money. No kid should ever go hungry at school in America.”
CONTACT: Tara McNamara | 858-627-7316 (office), 209-233-1565 (cell) | tmcanamara@sandi.net
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