Bay Area School Districts Offering Meals For Students During Coronavirus Shutdown

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- School districts in across the Bay Area Monday offered meals for students during the coronavirus shutdown.

Twelve schools in Oakland opened for "grab and go" breakfast and lunch meals for students, who would also be able to pick up multiple days worth of food to take home, OUSD said. The meal programs will be open Monday and Thursday between 8 a.m. and noon at the following schools:

Northwest/West Oakland: Sankofa Elementary, West Oakland Middle School, Hoover Elementary
Central Oakland: Oakland High School, Garfield Elementary
East Oakland: Bret Harte Middle School, Life Academy/United for Success, Coliseum College Preparatory Academy, Madison Park Upper, Fremont High School, Castlemont High School, Elmhurst United Middle School

The district said it would also be working with other community partners and local agencies to ensure that students have access to food throughout the school closure.

In Oakland, about 71 percent of the students, which is almost three out of every four students, are on free or reduced-price meals. All of these students are likely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, hence the move by the school district.

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Garfield Elementary on Monday distributed three breakfasts and three lunches per student and will serve two breakfasts and two lunches on Thursday morning, according to Kiana Pineda, a third grade teacher at the school.

And all families are welcome, Pineda said. Families can receive a bag of non-perishable food items from the Alameda Food Bank.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

In San Francisco, SFUSD said the meal distribution would begin Tuesday with free breakfast and lunch to all children 18 and younger at eight pick-up sites across the city and six more sites to be added on Wednesday.

"We are committed to continuing to provide healthy meals for our students over the next several weeks while students are not in school," SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said in a prepared statement. "We are grateful for the support we already receive to make this happen, and would appreciate additional support from the community to help us keep our students fed."

A list of pick-up sites and schedules is available at sfusd.edu/schoolfood.

SFUSD also said it was also collaborating with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank about possibly co-locating food pantries at sites where students will receive free meals.

At Overfelt High in San Jose, the principal and kitchen staff set up a makeshift meal station with brown bag lunches on the curb starting at noon, serving anyone under the age of 18.

"It's really nice for Overfelt to do this because people don't have food too much," said Adrian Cayabyab, a 9th grader who came in to school to get bag lunches for himself and his little brother.

The East Side Union High School District normally provides 6,000 meals per day including breakfast and lunch. But Monday, with the shutdown of all schools all eleven schools served bag lunches at tables set up on sidewalks or parking lots outside the schools.

"We have a hot spicy chicken sandwich, milk, orange juice and a few other things, what they need for a nutritious meal," said Overfelt Principal Vito Chiala.

He said it's one way to keep serving the needs of the community during these difficult times. "We have a lot of students who count on school, not just for education but for nutrition. And so we made it possible through the superintendent and all the schools on the East Side to serve lunch to families every day," Chiala said.

East Side Union officials are now checking to see how Santa Clara County's new shelter in place order might affect the number of schools participating.

"Our goal, even if we have to reduce the number of schools that offer the lunch, we will allow any student to go to the sites we do have open to get a daily lunch during the week," said Superintendent Chris Funk.

For many families, it's a lifeline.

"This helps us a lot because she's a single parent, and she's a medical patient, too. They depend on this food everyday," said Raymond Hewett, a neighbor who was getting food for his grandson.

Fourth-grader Israel Sanchez-Ortiz and his younger brother get free breakfast and lunch at Encompass Academy. His mother, Yosdelhi Ortiz, said school work and food are her biggest concerns during the school closures.

"Very worry, because we don't have any saved food. We need to go [to the store]. Like I said, it's crazy," said Ortiz. She went to many stores and found empty shelves. She plans to stock up on food this weekend.

The West Contra Costa School District announced meals will be available for pick-up from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at:

De Anza High School, 5000 Valley View Rd., Richmond
DeJean Middle School, 3400 Macdonald Ave., Richmond
Helms Middle School, 2500 Road 20, San Pablo
Kennedy High School, 4300 Cutting Blvd., Richmond
Montalvin Elementary School, 300 Christine Dr., San Pablo
Nystrom Elementary School, 230 Harbour Way S., Richmond
Pinole Valley High School, 2900 Pinole Valley Rd., Pinole
Richmond High School, 1250 – 23rd St., Richmond
Riverside Elementary School, 1300 Amador St., San Pablo

In Hayward, all school sites will be distributing meals to-go on Monday:

Cherryland Elementary 456 Laurel Ave.
Fairview Elementary 23515 Maud Ave.
Longwood Elementary 850 Longwood Ave.
Park Elementary 411 Larchmont Street
Schafer Park Elementary 26268 Flamingo Ave.
Treeview Elementary 30565 Treeview Street
Tyrrell Elementary 27000 Tyrrell Ave.
Hayward High School 1633 East Ave.
Tennyson High School 27035 Whitman Street
Mt. Eden High School 2300 Panama Street

Monterey County (Alisal Union School District):

Alisal Community School, 1437 Del Monte Ave, Salinas
Fremont Elementary School, 1255 E. Market St, Salinas
Dr. Oscar F. Loya Elementary School, 1505 Cougar Dr, Salinas
Cesar Chavez Elementary School, 1225 Towt St., Salinas
Bardin Elementary School, 425 Bardin Rd., Salinas – Monte Bella Elementary students can pick-up meals here.
Creekside Elementary School, 1770 Kittery St., Salinas – John Steinbeck Elementary School students can pick-up meals here.
Frank Paul Elementary School, 1300 Rider Ave, Salinas – students from Virginia Rocca Barton School can pick-up meals here.
Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, 925 N. Sanborn Rd., Salinas – students from Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary School can pick-up meals here.

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