Steph and Ayesha Curry will help provide 1M meals to Oakland students impacted by coronavirus school closures

Posted: Mar 16, 2020 / 08:46 AM PDT

Updated: Mar 16, 2020 / 08:47 AM PDT

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The NBA season is suspended. But that doesn’t mean Steph Curry is ready to pack it in.

The Golden State Warriors guard and his wife, Ayesha Curry, are teaming up with a food bank to provide more than 1 million meals to students in Oakland who cannot attend schools due to coronavirus shutdowns.

The couple announced the plan on Friday in a Twitter video. Their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation will work with the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Oakland Unified School District on the initiative.

Oakland is closing schools bc of COVID-19. We support this decision but are concerned a/b the 18,000+ kids that rely on school for 2+ meals daily. @eatlearnplay is donating to @ACCFB to ensure every child has access to the food they need. Join us & donate https://t.co/nDqF7OoO0Z pic.twitter.com/nFp0w1eFqH
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 14, 2020

“We know the world is changing before our eyes in terms of dealing with the spread of coronavirus and we just found out that the Oakland Unified School District is closing the doors for the foreseeable future, so we want to intercede on behalf of the kids that rely on the daily services and try to help anyway we can,” Steph said in the video.

On any given day, the National School Lunch Program provides low-cost or free lunches to 29.7 million children. But the coronavirus pandemic is shutting down schools and underprivileged families are scrambling to find ways to feed their hungry children.

The Oakland’s Unified School District has temporarily closed schools through at least Sunday, April 5. Twelve of the district’s school sites will provide grab and go meals for students on certain days over the next few weeks while schools remain closed.

“The statistics are really staggering. At least 18,000 kids rely on at least two meals a day from the school system, so we want to make sure that we rally around everyone and ensure that these kids are not wondering where their next meal is coming from,” Ayesha said in the Twitter video.

Organizations, including Feeding America, Save the Children, and Blessings in a Backpack, are also helping provide nutritious meals to low-income communities and students impacted by the pandemic.

Steph, who turned 32 on Saturday, and the rest of the Warriors have also pledged a $1 million donation to a disaster relief fund for Chase Center employees who won’t be working games due to the suspension of the NBA season over the coronavirus spread.

The suspension is having a sizeable impact on the pay of thousands of hourly employees at basketball arenas across the country.