NEED TO FEED FAMILIES
Life was already hectic enough for Leonela Villalobos before the pandemic.
Every day at 4 a.m., the 17-year- old would wake up and get ready to make the long drive with her parents from their home in Los Banos to San Jose. She would arrive at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School on East Santa Clara Street at 7:30 a.m. before the doors even opened as her mom — who worked at a factory in Fremont — and her dad — a construction worker — went on to their jobs.
After school, she worked retail at Eastridge Mall before heading home with her parents. The days dragged together with the repetition of long drives, classes, work and school assignments, but it was manageable.
Then the pandemic cost Leonela’s’ mom her income — and finances tightened fast.
“Having my mom lose her job because of COVID made me feel like I had to pick up more — I started picking up more shifts, more hours,” Leonela said. “It’s really like, okay, I’m going to get home at ten and just stay up till I finish my homework.”
For many families at Cristo Rey, an experience like Leonela’s is the norm, said Aurora Aceves, the school’s director of counseling.
With more than 70% of students eligible for free- or reducedlunch, the threat of hunger among students deepened by the day.
“The need that arose from the pandemic was even higher than even I thought, being a school serving a community that’s underserved,” said Adolfo Guevara, assistant principal of student life and dean of students. “This really brought it to light. There’s a big number of our families that are struggling to put food on the table.”