The YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South will take over food distribution from Shelby County Schools after a district employee tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Meal distribution will be at the same times and locations the district previously announced: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays at 62 locations across the city starting Monday. The food will come from YMCA instead of Shelby County Schools’ nutrition services, which district officials said Friday were compromised after a nutrition services employee fell ill with COVID-19, prompting them to suspend the meal plan. The employee did not directly handle food.
“We have received an overwhelming response from city, county, and state leaders as well as businesses and restaurants,” a district message to parents said.
The district is scheduled to reopen April 6. Families can also pick up lesson packets with educational material by grade level at the meal distribution sites.
For more food resources, check out our running list.
Originally posted on Chalkbeat by Laura Faith Kebede on March 22, 2020. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.