Fairmont Prep senior Leela Gala has been serving children in shelters and underprivileged communities for many years. In Leela’s freshman year, she decided to create an opportunity for Fairmont students to get involved in the organization StandUp for Kids. She created a club where students gather together to help provide brown bag lunches for children experiencing homelessness, which are distributed to meetings that the youth attend. With the help of Mrs. Anna Kunkle, the group grew to such a degree that by Leela’s sophomore year, Leela set the group up as a 501(c)(3) called Food Served Here.

Members of Food Served Here meet regularly during their lunch break to plan, collect, and prepare lunches for the children, which are picked up by a member from the StandUp for Kids staff. Together, the group is able to bag eighty lunches once a month to serve forty children experiencing homelessness.

As Leela transitions to college this year, another Fairmont student will take over guiding the school’s branch of Food Served Here, while a number of other schools in Orange County will continue to manage their own branch.

Fairmont families are welcome to participate: students may join the Fairmont branch, and parents, students, and all community members are encouraged to donate food or financial provisions that will go toward supplies. We encourage you to reach out to Mrs. Anna Kunkle, Director of Community Service, at akunkle@fairmontschools.com to learn more!

Note: During the COVID-19 pandemic Food Served Here provides food on the street, as there are no youth meetings being held.