FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A local restaurant owner is serving free meals to Cumberland County students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While students are out of class, the school district is allowing students to pick up breakfast and lunch at various locations within in the county.
The owner of Southern Coals restaurant in Fayetteville, Jason Hairr, was at the John D. Fuller Recreational Center handing out barbecue lunches on March 19. He said because of the virus, sales at his restaurant were down 60 percent on March 18. However, Hairr said kids are a bigger priority.
"I know that it's a big impact in Cumberland County alone with the amount of kids that rely on getting lunch and breakfast from the schools," Hairr said. "And if they're not in school, they're not getting the proper nutrition that they need. So I contacted child nutrition just to stick a hand out and see if there's a way I could help."
Hairr said he'll be serving food again as long as he can be at one of the dozens of locations parents and students can get food.