Three free grab-and-go meals are being offered on weekdays to anyone in New York City by the NYC Department of Education starting Friday, April 3. 

According to the NYC Department of Education website, meals can be picked up at 435 different “Meal Hub” locations across the five boroughs, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for children and their families, and for other adults from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm. Three meals can be picked up at one time, and parents are able to pick up meals for their children at home. There is no seating or shelter available for dining at these locations, meals must be eaten offsite. 

Any and every New Yorker is permitted to pick-up food, with no identification or documentation required, and “no one will be turned away”, according to the website. Click here to find the closest free meal location to you. 

Previously, free meals from the Department of Education were only available for school children and their families, but starting April 3, the meals are available to anyone, with or without a connection to the NYC public school system. 

The grab-and-go meals provide food options that include all five necessary food groups designated by the USDA. The menu includes a variety of sandwiches and salads, snacks such as graham crackers, vegetables like green beans and carrots, fresh fruit, and dairy options like fat free and chocolate milk. The online menu states that none of the meals are fried nor do they include pork or artificial flavoring. Full vegetarian and halal options are also available at all designated Meal Hubs. 

Menus for breakfast and lunch are both complete for the month of April, but, according to the NYC Department of Education’s website, Meal Hub locations and menus are subject to change. 

Text “NYC FOOD” to 877-877 for updated text alerts from the city on grab-and-go meal information, and “COVID” to 692-692 for other COVID-19 related notifications about New York City.