Some Merced County school districts making changes to students’ meal distribution schedule
The Merced City School District announced Wednesday it’s reducing the number of days free meals will be served to students during school closures related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ten sites inside Merced City School District will hand out meals on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday instead of every weekday, according to a district news release.
Meals will be provided in advance for every off day, to ensure children have breakfast and lunch for each weekday. When parents and children pick up their meal on Monday, they will also receive breakfast and lunch to save for Tuesday when the campuses will be closed. The same will occur when they pick up meals on Thursday.
“This change is being made to increase social distancing by allowing staff to work on a shift rotation, and for campuses to be professionally cleaned.,” the Merced City School District stated in a release.
The new schedule will begin on Monday, April 13. The campuses will be closed this Friday because it’s Easter weekend. Parents and children will receive Friday’s meals when they pick up meals on Thursday.
Meals will be distributed next week even though it’s spring break for Merced City School District schools. The district has handed out more than 200,000 free meals in the first 15 days of the school closures.
All schools in Merced County’s 20 school districts closed down March 19 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The meals can be picked up at Burbank Elementary (609 Alexander Ave.), Fremonth Elementary (2150 S St.), Givens Elementary (2900 Green St.), Hoover Middle (800 E. 26th St.), Peterson Elementary (848 E. Donna Dr.), Reyes Elementary (123 South N. St.), Rivera Elementary (945 Buena Vista Dr.), Stefani Elementary (2768 Ranchero Lane), Stowell Elementary 251 E. 11th St.) and Tenaya Middle (760 W. 8th St.).
Merced City School District also announced teachers have been reaching out to students to make sure they have a computer or tablet at home to begin distance learning. Every family in need of a device will receive one. The district says plans are in place to provide internet access for families that do not have it. There are nearly 12,000 students in the Merced City School District’s 18 schools.
Schedules for other school districts
Merced Union High School District also announced it’s making a change to its meal distribution schedule. The MUHSD campuses will be closed from Friday, April 10 through April 19 for spring break. Meals will not be handed out during the break.
Beginning on Monday, April 20, the Merced Union High School District will begin handing out meals from 11 a.m. until noon. Both breakfast and lunch will be handed out during that period.
Previously, the MUHSD schools had been handing out breakfast from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
The meals can be picked up at Atwater High (2201 Fruitland Ave.), Buhach Colony High (1800 Buhach Road), East Campus (1900 G Street), Golden Valley High (2121 E. Childs Ave.), El Capitan High (100 Farmland Ave.), Livingston High (1617 Main St.), Merced High (205 W. Olive Ave.).
Other school districts like Snelling-Merced Falls Union Elementary School District, Merced River Union Elementary School District, Gustine Unified School District and Ballico-Cressey Elementary School District will not be changing their schedule and will not be handing out meals during the spring break holiday.
El Nido Elementary School District will also not be handing out free meals during spring break and will be reducing the number of days meals are handed out to Mondays and Wednesdays., beginning on April 20th.
Le Grand Elementary School District will not hand out meals on Friday, April 10 or Monday, April 13th because of holidays. The schedule will remain the same after the holidays.
