CPS meal-distribution services resume Tuesday following day-long suspension
Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Janice Jackson’s decision to suspend meal-distribution services for students and their families was criticized by some on social media. Screenshot via Chicago Public School Twitter account.
Meal distribution for Chicago Public Schools students resumed Tuesday after Chicago Public Schools suspended its grab-and-go meal sites and other school administrative office activities Monday, June 1.
This was following a weekend filled with protests, looting and violence after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last month, prompted protests in cities across the country, including Chicago.
The decision to resume meal distribution, a service started to provide families with meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, came early Monday evening, in a statement shared to the Chicago Public Schools’ Twitter account. The statement, signed by Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Dr. Janice Jackson herself, read in part: “The outpouring of support in Chicago and across the country has filled us with hope that our nation may have finally decided that things have to change. We support and stand with Chicagoans who are forcefully, yet peacefully, advocating for the rights of black and brown people.”
Tweet from Twitter user @SSKedreporter. Screenshot via Twitter by Maia McDonald.
Meal distribution sites will also be receiving support from the Chicago Police Department, in efforts to ensure a “safe and welcoming environment” when picking up meals. CPS also announced the release of Say Their Names, a list of resources and other materials aimed at fostering productive conversations involving race, previously only available to CPS teachers.
“It is critically important that we take these conversations out of the classroom and into our homes,” the statement continued. Jackson originally spoke about the meal suspension at a pre-recorded presser on the CPS Facebook page Monday morning. According to Jackson, she made the decision to halt in-person meal distribution, largely due to safety concerns following the weekend’s events.
“The decision was made to temporarily suspend meal distribution today out of an abundance of caution,” Jackson said on Monday. “It is important to note that meal pick-up is not possible, today we are proceeding with 18,000 meals that will be delivered to families that were previously to be scheduled.”
In addition to the 18,000 meals and about 3,000 stops CPS had planned to make, additional resources were deployed in order to service the additional load they encountered from new families requesting food deliveries.
Jackson said Monday that protecting employees and staff was her top priority when making her decision to suspend meal-distribution services, following the weekend’s events.
“Throughout this pandemic, our principals have been amazing. They are doing twenty different jobs on any given day. They have risen to the occasion any time that we have asked and our food service employees have been remarkable. They take pride in the work that they do but we also know that they are humans too. They have to be protected. They have family members that they need to take care of and as a leader in this district, and like I said, somebody who actually lives in the communities that we serve, I feel strongly [that] if we’re going to make decisions,” she said.
Tweet from Twitter user @Yanazure. Screenshot via Twitter by Maia McDonald
Thousands of protestors filled city streets Friday and then on Saturday for a National Day of Protest, marching downtown in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and an end to police brutality. The protests were prompted in cities across the country after a video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, resulting in his death, went viral. Protests in Chicago were mostly peaceful throughout Saturday, although there was looting of stores and damage to police cars and other property.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to suspend CTA service, raise bridges leading into and out of the downtown area and keep expressways going North, like Lake Shore Drive, kept many protestors in Downtown Chicago past a hastily announced curfew (only about 30 minutes before it started), and prompted more violent clashes with Chicago police officers.
Jackson’s decision was criticized on social media, with several Chicagoans questioning why the meal suspension wasn’t communicated to the public sooner while some wondered why the decision was made to begin with. Others aggregated resources for those looking for food.
Jackson maintained, however, that food would be available to families who need it. Those looking to get meals delivered or have additional questions are encouraged to dial the CPS Command Center at 773-553-KIDS.