Burbank restaurants provide free food to students in need during coronavirus pandemic
Local restaurants across Burbank continue to offer takeout, delivery and curbside pick-up options under Los Angeles County’s Safer at Home order, and some businesses are showing up for the youngest residents in need.
While Burbank Unified launched its grab-and-go meal service for students eligible for free or reduced-priced school meals during school closures, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken and Prime Pizza are also providing free food to students who rely on school meal programs.
Juanito Guerreiro, an employee at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken’s Burbank location, knew people struggling to provide for their children and brought the idea of a free-meal program to the franchise owner, Raehan Qureshi.
The meal program is available at the restaurant chain’s locations in Burbank, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Santa Ana from noon to 8 p.m. daily.
A parent or guardian can bring their child and let the cashier know they’d like a free meal for their kid without any form of identification or proof of financial need. Qureshi said he expects to continue the program through the end of the pandemic.
He estimates that the franchise offered meals to about 1,000 students across all locations and close to 300 students at the Burbank location alone.
“There were some parents who’ve actually started crying about it. We had a parent who wanted to give our cashier a hug, but obviously we have to maintain social distancing,” Qureshi said.
“It’s been a true joy to see how much of an impact something so simple has had on so many families,” he added.
Although restaurants are taking financial hits, Qureshi said the meal program offers some benefits — helping out a community that has supported the franchise, providing a good boost to employee morale and maintaining a workflow at the restaurants.
With the meal service, they’ve had to order more supplies, and the franchise is able to support its usual food vendors.
Prime Pizza owners Zak Fishman and James Starr took inspiration from their friend and mentor Frank Pinello, who offered a similar meal program through his New York eatery Best Pizza.
It started as an informal open call posted on the pizzeria’s Instagram account and is turning into a formalized program, starting Monday.
Prime Pizza is offering students 12 years old or younger a free slice of pizza on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through its newest location in Burbank, which opened in January.
They are working with vendors to organize food donations. Fishman said that, at a minimum, students will receive a slice of pizza and, at a maximum, they could receive additional items such as fresh fruit, juice or chips — depending on how many donations are collected.
Although the restaurant has received a positive response from the community, Fishman said there hasn’t been an overwhelming number of people requesting the free meal service, and he and Starr plan to continue the meal program as long as they can.
“[Public schools] provide a lot more to kids than just an education. They provide one, two, sometimes even three meals a day for some students who really count on it. We just thought it would be a great way to help out,” said Fishman.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, 509 S. Glenoaks Blvd., and Prime Pizza, 603 N Hollywood Way, are also open for online ordering, takeout and delivery.
