Atlanta Public Schools will offer students daily free meals at five sites while buildings are closed because of concerns about the coronavirus.
The district announced on Thursday that school buildings would close Monday for at least two weeks. That means students won't be in school cafeterias to eat the free breakfasts and lunches that APS provides to all students.
In response to worries about students going hungry, the district said it would open five meal distribution sites where students can pick up food. The five sites are: Douglass High School, Cleveland Avenue Elementary School, Bunche Middle School, Sylvan Middle School and Phoenix Academy, which is located at Crim High School.
The sites will open Monday. They will be in operation from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday during the building closures. All APS students can receive a free bagged meal.
Beginning on March 23, those sites will give APS families a bag of shelf-stable grocery items from the Atlanta Community Food Bank during the same hours.
About 78% of APS students meet the eligibility requirements to receive a free or reduced price meal at school. This school year, the district began offering free breakfast and lunch to all students, no matter their family income, through a federal program that provides reimbursement.
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