SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento City Unified School District is working with the Sacramento Food Bank, volunteers from the Sacramento Republic FC, and local chef Patrick Mulvaney to help address hunger in Sacramento

“Even through the most difficult times, our Sacramento community remains a beacon of light,” said Sacramento City Unified School District President Jessie Ryan. “It is inspiring to witness community members coming together to support our students during this unprecedented health crisis. We know that our students can’t thrive if they don’t have their basic needs met and that no child should go hungry. Thank you to the Sacramento Food Bank, Chef Patrick Mulvaney, our dedicated Nutrition Services staff, and the many community helpers who have stepped-up to feed our families.”

“Sac City Unified plays a critical role in nourishing minds and bodies in our community,” said Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. “Sac City Unified is proud to work with our community partners including the Sacramento Food Bank, Chef Patrick Mulvaney, and volunteers from Sac Republic to address hunger. The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating an already significant need. Our students benefit and our community is stronger when we work together to provide meals that sustain our youth and our families.”

The Sacramento City Unified School District Nutrition Services Department continues to provide meal access for students affected by the school closures. Since the district’s schools were closed to help mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus, the district has provided more than 375,000 meals for students. The district will continue providing meals during Spring Break next week, handing out meals on Tuesday and Friday and continues to look for volunteers to help with this herculean effort.

The district was joined this week by the Sacramento Food Bank and volunteers from the Sac Republic FC who distributed 1,000 boxes of supplemental food to families at various district meal distribution sites. 

In addition, Patrick Mulvaney, head chef at Mulvaney’s B&L, passed out additional family meal kits at several of the sites this week. The supplemental family meal kits were prepared by restaurant staff at  Mulveney’s B&L. The meal kits can easily be cooked at home and serve up to four people. The meal kits are the result of a chef-driven initiative called “Family Meal,” a chef-driven initiative to put independent restaurants to work by creating and distributing meals for at-risk populations.

The founding members of the initiative in Sacramento are chefs from Canon, Mulvaney’s, Allora, Camden, and Binchoyaki, with guidance and support from Santana Diaz of UC Davis, and Rabbi David with Fresher Sacramento.

Volunteers from the Food Bank and the Family Meal initiative will continue to coordinate with Sac City Unified during the school closures to distribute meals and food boxes weekly at rotating meal service locations throughout the district.