The Los Angeles Unified School District — like many others around Southern California — has closed all of its campuses in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Recognizing that many students rely on schools for meals, the district opened 60 "grab-and-go" food centers on Wednesday, where volunteers and staff are handing out free breakfasts and lunches to kids from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
On the first day of the program, LAUSD staff and volunteers handed out 40,247 meals, the district says.
The second day, schools Supt. Austin Beutner tweeted that the number had more than doubled, to 92,493 meals distributed.
Then, today, the superintendent clarified in a tweet that the number of meals given out yesterday was actually far greater than he initially reported: more than 182,000.
And on the third day of distribution, that number jumped even higher, to 247,106 meals – breakfasts and lunches – given to students.
Helping those most in need.
— Austin Beutner (@AustinLASchools) March 20, 2020
Ayudando a los más necesitados. pic.twitter.com/qJmX8jCc2U
"The 92,000+ number we provided yesterday was actually the number of people served, not the number of meals," a district spokesperson explained in an email. "The updated figure of 182,000+ is the actual number of meals -- breakfast and lunch -- that were distributed. The meal count is the figure we'll be using going forward."
According to a district spokesperson, the 60 grab-and-go meal centers are staffed by more than 1,200 volunteers and district staff from the Red Cross, Beyond the Bell, LA's Best, food services, and other parts of the district.
HERE TO HELP:
