Large signs and banners have been added to some Lakewood school buses that are being used to deliver meals to needy families.

This was done after a Lakewood school bus was pulled over in Toms River last week for suspicion of dropping off kids from school, even though all schools were ordered to close due to the virus epidemic.

News 12 New Jersey has been reporting that the school buses are delivering free and reduced lunch meals to students and their homes. But the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the claims, so school buses are being pulled over to spot-check them.

News 12 obtained a video of one such traffic stop that occurred on Monday. In the video, a police detective is seen walking up to the driver. Video from inside the bus shows that the bus driver’s children were also on board, along with boxes of meals. The driver says that he does not think that the police believed him when he told them what he was doing. He says that he is stunned that people in Lakewood are suspicious.

"I think they're really convinced that I'm dropping off kids because you just see a kid coming out of the house, getting a meal, going back. Let me tell you something, you'd see kids going into a school building in one second. Everything is recorded these days."

But the suspicions may not be without cause. Lakewood police have busted several large gatherings over the past few weeks since the governor’s order went into effect, including weddings and funerals.

A spokesperson for Toms River police says in a statement, "The investigation is still being conducted through the Prosecutor's Office. There are multiple sources being investigated at this time including witness statements that we are trying to corroborate."

The statement continued, "We want to make sure the investigation is complete before releasing additional information."

Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles previously told News 12 that he believes that some of the suspicions may come from feelings of antisemitism toward the town. Lakewood has a large Orthodox Jewish population. But Coles says that he expects everyone in Lakewood to follow the governor’s social distancing orders.

For now, the town will focus on the public awareness campaign about school bus deliveries.