Dear Kehilla Community members,
As you likely know, Oakland Unified Teachers are going on strike starting this Thursday – teachers are demanding higher salaries, smaller class sizes, more student support (nurses, counselors, aids), and no more school closures. This is a huge fight, and Kehilla is joining a city-wide effort called “Bread for Ed” to bottomline food distribution to students and teachers during the strike.
We are sponsoring meal prep and bagged lunch distribution for students on free and reduced lunch, who normally get meals at their school sites but won’t have access to this food during the strike. There are roughly 25,000 students on free and reduced lunch in the district. We will also be bringing food to support striking teachers on picket lines.
Can you make a donation to support Oakland students and teachers get fed during the strike?
Ways you can contribute:
1. Donate money here.
2. Donate food items for bagged lunches at Kehilla synagogue
Donations we are accepting include:
- paper bags for bagged lunches & sandwich size ziplock bags
- loaves of bread
- nut butters, jam, hummus
- fruit easy to eat: apples, tangerines/oranges, bananas
- raw veggies easy to eat: peppers, carrots, jicama, etc.
- energy bars, fruit snacks, pre-packaged trail mix/granola.
3. Help assemble bagged lunches in Kehilla’s kitchen and/or distribute food to school sites
Food prep and distribution efforts will be happening daily in the Kehilla kitchen from 6:30 am – approximately 1pm starting on Thursday 2/21 into next week, and likely for the duration of the strike. Drop ins welcome (hours are subject to change next week depending on how the strike develops), or to sign up and stay updated on ongoing volunteer shifts and needs you can fill out this form.
To learn more about Bread for Ed, visit the website here.