LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cooks have been mobilized at Churchill Downs for a special mission.

32,000 weekly meals are being produced, not for horse bettors in fedoras. Instead, they’re going to Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) families kept home by the virus; many relying on a meal program that needs help.

"We’ve been actually working on this since August," Said Chef Edward Lee whose accolades include owning acclaimed restaurant 610 Magnolia in Louisville, and being a former Top Chef contestant and Master Chef judge. "We knew that we need to figure out how public school families are going to get fed throughout the pandemic.

JCPS has continued its own reduced and free lunch program, but Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio has repeatedly stated public schools could benefit from additional stimulus money from Congress - money that has not yet been formulated.

Enter Lee and Chef David Danielson, who runs the massive kitchen at Churchill Downs. According to them, the pair quickly met, devised multiple recipes, and retained Churchill's cook staff, whose jobs had been placed in limbo while the pandemic kept crowds away from the famed racetrack.

"We’re proud of what we’re doing and we’re proud that we can be helping people out in this crazy time," said Danielson, in an interview with Spectrum News 1 while his assembly line busily packaged taco bowls for delivery.

When asked about retaining the quality of their meals while being produced in such a high quantity Lee said, "We specifically call this program 'Family Meal' for a reason, because these are the exact same foods that I feed my family. It’s the same food that Chef Danielson feeds his family."

Additionally, Danielson showed us massive boxes filled with thousands of whole, unpeeled carrots he said had come from local farms. The chefs claim to source as many ingredients as they can from local producers.

A racetrack known for opulence; a chef whose food people usually have to make reservations for; now both are helping to feed a city’s students.