How schools are (and aren’t) providing meals to children during coronavirus
Parents rely on schools for children’s meals. Coronavirus has exposed the vulnerabilities of these programs.
In an effort to keep children safe from the coronavirus pandemic, schools in the United States have shut down. Teachers have had to adapt by going online with classes to keep kids on schedule with their education, and other forms of distance learning — teachers holding office hours by phone, the distribution of learning packets, etc. — are being implemented. Essentially, educators are finding ways to ensure kids don’t need to go to a physical building to get schooled.
But there’s at least one big problem this presents.
Many students around the country rely on schools to provide free or low-cost meals. These meals — which speak to the country’s larger problem of income inequality — are a necessary staple for many families across the country.
On a typical school day, the National School Lunch Program provides low-cost or free lunches to 29.7 million children. In New York City, the Department of Education offers free breakfast, lunch, and after-school meals to public school students during the school year. These low-cost and free options are even more imperative considering the record-shattering unemployment spike in the US.
With the shutdown of physical school, that option is gone and the US is scrambling to address this problem, on top of all the other problems the coronavirus pandemic presents.
During this pandemic, the White House has signaled that states need to take care of themselves without relying on the federal government when it comes to vital medical equipment, with Trump picking fights with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and saying New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is exaggerating his state’s need for ventilators.
On Friday, his administration signaled that state and local officials may, similarly, need to CONTINUE READING: Coronavirus and schools: Free meals are (and aren’t) getting to kids - Vox
The “CA Meals for Kids” app was originally released in 2018 to help users to find the locations of California’s Summer and Afterschool Meal Programs, which are spread throughout the state. These programs provide no-cost meals to children aged eighteen and under. The app is available for free download through Apple’s App Store 
, Google’s Play Store, and Microsoft’s App Store web pages.
, Google’s Play Store, and Microsoft’s App Store web pages.
More information about the app is available on CDE’s CA Meals for Kids Mobile Application support web page.
More information and resources regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) and California's response is available at the CDE’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) web page.