KTLA

Backpack giveaway at East L.A. College hopes to help kids start new school year at the top of their class

More than 2,400 backpacks full of school supplies were distributed for free to children ages 4 and up at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on Friday.

The drive-thru event was hosted by L.A. Care Health Plan and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan Community Resource Centers.

Another event that includes a food pantry will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the USC medical campus near Boyle Heights.

“If kids don’t have food on the table, we know that it’s always challenging when they go back to the classroom, which is why at some of these events, the food pantry and the food giveaway,” said Olga Gallardo, of Blue Shield Promise.