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A woman and her three children huddled under a patio umbrella and walked toward C.L. Smith Elementary’s blue popup tent in the rain.
Rosa Barajas was one of the several dozen San Luis Coastal school district parents who braved the wet weather Monday morning to pick up free lunch and breakfast meals.
Although school districts across the county have suspended classes due to coronavirus, her children and many others still needed food. And with that in mind, many districts have begun offering the meals to any children who need them.
“This is new territory, things are evolving and changing by the moment, but we are here to nourish our community,” said Erin Primer, director of San Luis Coastal Unified School District Food Services.
San Luis Coastal, Atascadero, Lucia Mar, Paso Robles and Coast Unified school districts are all offering food services to children in the community in one form or the other.
“It’s good because many of the people are panicked and the stores have no food. This is helping kids,” Barajas said in Spanish.
Leo Barajas picked up a meal with his brother and sister on Monday at C.L. Smith Elementary School in San Luis Obispo. Districts throughout the county are offering meal pickups for children as coronavirus closed schools. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Food resources
The school districts’ Food Service Departments are offering free food to children 18 years old and younger from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Children must be present to receive a meal. Each child will receive a free lunch and breakfast for the next day.
These programs will be for pick up only and may not be eaten on the campus. There is no paperwork required to pick up food. However, most food programs will not be running during the districts’ scheduled spring breaks.
For students with medical food restrictions who need food, Primer said to contact their Food Services Department and the departments will do their best to accommodate those needs.
Primer said all the school districts in the county are a part of the Central Coast School Nutrition Co-op and are sharing resources throughout the county to continue to provide food to kids. She said the districts have partnered with the SLO County Food Bank and are in touch with the Public Health Department.
The districts are also partnering with local businesses, like Edna’s Bakery, to help local businesses who may also be affected during this time.
“We’ve seen a pretty rapid and great response from other school districts wanting to do the same thing, which is really what we do every day, feed kids,” Primer said. “We want to offer nourishment to our community especially during these challenging times. So we are all coordinated. We are also connected with community partners.”
A breakfast/lunch combination meal offered for pickup at San Luis Coastal schools on Monday included cereal, fruit, milk and other snacks. Districts throughout the county are offering meal pickups for children as coronavirus closed schools. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
SAN LUIS COASTAL UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
San Luis Coastal school campuses will be closed until April 14 and the schools are in the process of transitioning to a digital format until the campuses reopen, according to a letter sent to parents and providers of students in the district. However, students do not need to be a part of the San Luis Coastal Unified School District to pick up a meal.
Where to pick up: Laguna Middle School, Pacheco Elementary, CL Smith Elementary, Sinsheimer Elementary, Los Osos Middle School, Baywood Elementary, Teach Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, Morro Bay High School and Del Mar Elementary bus loops.
ATASCADERO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Atascadero Unified schools will be closed through March 31, when the district will announce a decision after reevaluating the situation. The districts Food Services Department will offer free meals to everyone under 18 years old the week of March 17 to March 23.
Where to pick up: The front parking lot of Atascadero High School, Atascadero Middle School, Carrisa Plains Elementary, Monterey Road Elementary, San Benito Elementary, San Gabriel Elementary, Santa Margarita Elementary, next to the bus loading zone of Santa Rosa Academic Academy, and behind the cafeteria at Creston Elementary.
LUCIA MAR UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
All Lucia Mar schools will be closed through Friday, March 27. The district says it hopes to reopen March 30 but will update parents and providers with information if circumstances change. Lucia Mar is asking that all people picking up food remain in their car or go to a pickup table to maintain social-distancing guidelines.
Where to pick up: Nipomo High School for children who attend Nipomo High School,Central Coast New Tech, Nipomo Elementary, Dana Elementary and Lange Elementary.
Arroyo Grande High School for children who attend Arroyo Grande High School, Harloe Elementary, Paulding Middle, Branch Elementary and Ocean View Elementary.
Judkins Middle School for children who attend Judkins or Shell Beach Elementary.
Fairgrove Elementary School for children who attend Fairgrove, Oceano Elementary, Grover Beach Elementary and Grover Heights Elementary.
And Mesa Middle School for children who attend Mesa, Lopez High School and Mesa View School.
PASO ROBLES JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Paso Robles schools will be closed through at least April 10, according to the school district. Starting Tuesday, March 17, several meal pickup locations will be available to families for their children.
Where to pick up: Georgia Brown Elementary, George Flamson Middle, Paso Robles High and Winifred Pifer Elementary parking lots or bus lanes.
COAST UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Coast Unified moved up its spring break and will be tenatively closed until March 31, according to the district website.
Where to pick up: Coast Union High School cafeteria.
Internet resources
While some schools will close altogether, others are offering free virtual voluntary enrichment opportunities or online classes.
For families without internet access, Charter Communications, which operates Spectrum services, is offering free broadband and WiFi access for families with children who have been affected by school closures.
“As the country works collaboratively to contain this pandemic, broadband internet access will be increasingly essential to ensuring that people across the country are able to learn and work remotely,” a Charter news release read.
According to the release, Charter will offer free Spectrum broadband and WiFi access to households with K-12 or college students who do not already have a subscription at any service level up to 100 megabits per second.
To enroll in the free program call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new students.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
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Cassandra Garibay reports on housing throughout the San Joaquin Valley with Fresnoland at The Fresno Bee. Cassandra graduated from Cal Poly and was the breaking news and health reporter at The SLO Tribune prior to returning to the valley where she grew up. Cassandra is a two-time McClatchy President’s Award recipient. Send story ideas her way via email at cgaribay@fresnobee.com. Habla Español.
