The East High School food pantry is committed to feeding the hungry — which includes the majority of its students.
“People are surprised that a lot of East High students don’t have the things that they need to basically just survive from day to day,” said Mya Johnson, an East student body officer.
“They think that, just because we’re on the east side [of Salt Lake City], we have a higher income,” said Brooklyn Franco, the student senate president. “But that’s definitely not the case.”
Principal Greg Maughan said about 60 percent of the student body is enrolled in the free or reduced-price lunch program, and he estimates that number would be as high as 70 percent if everyone eligible signed up.