Most area districts have had this week (March 16-20) as Spring Break to prepare for food distribution to families during the closed-school days ahead (see below). But the Independence and Fort Osage school districts were supposed to be back in school this week, and they have jump-started their meal distribution by handing out grab-and-go meals at several district locations.

Fort Osage food service workers handed more than 550 lunches at four locations Tuesday, with breakfast items for the next day. Workers made 1,000 such meals for Wednesday, Stacie Waller, director of food service, told The Examiner. “And we anticipate handing out all of them.”

For other school districts, teams have been mobilizing to get their meals operations on the ground next week (March 23).

Kansas City Public Schools is setting up a food distribution network beginning March 24 to continue the nutrition services that are vital to the health of many children in the district.

The district’s food service will be delivering sack lunches and meal kits that families can pick up and take with them. Student IDs are required. If a family does not have student IDs, district staff will be able to look up student information to verify a student’s status.

The district is also providing delivery services for qualifying families who cannot travel to the distribution points. Information on the distribution and delivery service is online here, or by calling 816-418-3663 (FOOD).

While the district expects to be able to handle the tasks with its staff, there are ways that the public can help, the district’s director of volunteers said.

In particular, the district is accepting donations of  fresh fruit, hygiene kits, books, and activities for kids such as crafts and art supplies. To offer a donation, go to Google form set up here. You can also sign up to be a potential volunteer.

The Hickman Mills School District will be delivering meals for pickup at school sites, and delivering meals according to a bus schedule. The details are here. Hickman Mills has a sign up page for people who would like to help distribute food here.

The Grandview School District is setting up a food distribution plan that will be available to all children in the community, not just Grandview students. There will be several “grab-and-go” sites for pickup and some sites where meals will be delivered according to a bus schedule. The details are available here.

The Center School District is distributing meals to its students at its elementary schools for pickup daily, and also taking meals out into its neighborhoods along bus routes in plans that were mailed to district families Friday.

Other community agencies providing food help — and in need of support:

• The Community Assistance Council in south Kansas City recognizes that its food pantry will be increasingly important in the days ahead. It is taking measures to keep providing food in ways that keep its staff and its clients safe. Financial donations to the CAC can be made here.

• The non-profit community food network Harvesters is also mobilizing to help Kansas City-area residents in distress. But, as Harvesters’ communications manager Gene Hallinan noted to The Beacon, the food network needs cash donations, not food donations.

“With monetary donations we can leverage our buying power and we can purchase pallets of food that don’t have to be sorted,” he said.