STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Jose Torres lost his job as a street vendor almost as soon as the coronavirus pandemic hit. The Bronx resident is now scrambling for work wherever he can find it—and so on Thursday, he found himself on Staten Island for a construction job. At lunchtime, he called home to check in on his two children. 

Feeding them, he says, has been a struggle.

"Right now, due to the coronavirus, kids are eating more," said Torres. "I mean, I've never spent so much money just on food.“

Without steady income, and still waiting for his stimulus check, Torres went to PS 18 on Staten Island, obtaining meals and snacks for his family before heading back to the Bronx. He's come to rely on the so-called grab-and-go food now offered at Education Department sites around the city to schoolchildren and adults.

There are 435 grab-and-go locations in the five boroughs. They're open from 7:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and provide basic meals with vegetarian and halal options. Recipients do not need to fill out forms or show identification. The only requirement is that the food must be eaten off site. 

The grab-and-go sites offer breakfast and lunch. If you’re wondering what’s inside these bags, they’ve got hummus, carrots, wheat chips, an orange and chocolate milk. Other sites offer dinner options like sandwiches.

So far, the Department of Education says it's handed out 5.8 million meals to New Yorkers in need. 

Maria Torres is a single mom of three. She's a newly unemployed medical technician, and struggling. 

"I’m looking at a different ways to feed my kids and all of that," she said.

Torres hasn't applied for public assistance and she's not on unemployment. Having enough to eat, she says, is a concern that's always on her mind. 

So every day, she walks from her apartment around the corner to Port Richmond High School to pick up food. Sometimes, she takes enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner, since her kids have come to enjoy the meals and simple snacks. A convenience, she says, at a time when everything has suddenly gotten very hard.