There have been major changes to communities due to the spread of Coronavirus. Stores closing, restaurants only allowing take out, schools closing. Due to schools closing, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has opened up locations that are giving out food, and which is available to anyone. Most locations (link at bottom of the story, scroll down) where people can obtain food are mostly at schools, high school, and middle school.

LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner made a public announcement on Friday, March 13. The announcement was made due to the rapid spread of Coronavirus which caused COVID-19. Superintendent Beutner had this to say “Monday, March 16, we will close all Los Angeles Unified Public schools for two weeks, we will evaluate the appropriate path forward”. With this, LAUSD and the Red Cross partnered up and opened “Grab & Go” locations. The locations are only open from Monday to Friday, 8 to 11 a.m.

These centers are going to be giving out food until students are allowed to go back to school and nothing has been announced about the centers if schools do not reopen. “The Los Angeles Unified School District opened 60 “Grab & Go” food centers in response to the district closing schools” according to ABC7. As of Wednesday, March 18, the Grab & Go locations opened. 

Since then, families have been going during the morning to pick up food. At some of these food centers, people are allowed to either stand in line and wait or wait in a line but with cars. Due to COVID-19, workers wear gloves when handing out food to people in order to not have contact with the person’s food and to not have contact with the people receiving food.

There are over 700,000 students that are part of LAUSD. During the school year, around 700,000 meals were made a day for LAUSD students, including breakfast, lunch, and a snack after school. With hundreds of thousands of students eating food at school, LAUSD knew that they should open up places to get food, which happened. 

Link to view Grab & Go locations around you!

https://abc7.com/coronavirus-covid-19-grocery-stores-for-seniors-school-food/6023433/