HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Local food banks are acting as the first line of defense in keeping families fed as the outbreak of coronavirus closes schools and disrupts community operations in Hampton Roads.

On Friday, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that all Virginia schools will close for a minimum of two weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There are 30 positive cases of the disease in Virginia as of Friday afternoon, including cases in Virginia Beach and James City County.

School and business closures present a financial and food crisis for many families in Hampton Roads. Local food banks are working with community leaders to meet the needs of Hampton Roads residents, including thousands of children who rely on their schools to help feed them.

Virginia Peninsula Foodbank CEO Karen Joyner told 10 On Your Side there are more than 17,000 children on the Greater Peninsula who are “food insecure.” That number represents nearly 15 percent of children in Greater Peninsula communities who do not know where they will get food day-to-day.

Virginia Peninsula Foodbank staff are actively communicating with leadership in the Newport News, Hampton, and Williamsburg-James City County school districts to make plans for the continued feeding of children and their families while schools are closed.

Joyner said the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank will continue to distribute about 400 hot meals at 13 “kid cafe” locations on the Greater Peninsula. These meals are only served to children and cover the dinner portion of their nutritional needs.

The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank will continue to distribute food to families through their mobile food banks. The logistics of the mobile foodbanks are still being worked out to create environments where social distancing is possible along with food distribution, Joyner said.

“We are evaluating where we can partner with cities and perhaps do some additional distribution like we did during the government shutdown,” Joyner said.

Joyner said the foodbank is dealing with challenges as well: financial, food, and volunteer shortages; however, she believes the organization will be able to provide additional food distributions in the coming weeks to help families get through the crisis.

Two days before Northam announced that schools would be closed, 10 On Your Side reached out to Hampton Roads public school districts and asked for the number of homeless students and free-and-reduced eligible students in each community. We also asked how the schools would address the needs of hungry students in the event of a shutdown.

We have not heard back from every district, but we will add their answers to this article as we do:

Hampton

• District plan: “Alternative feeding locations and times will be posted on the HCS website by 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 15, 2020. As far a communicating to ALL of our families, regardless of socio-economic status, we are doing our best to provide the most up-to-date information as we work through all aspects of the closing.”

Norfolk

• Homeless students: Approximately 700
• Free-and-reduced eligible students: 23,132
• District plan: “We are concerned about the health and well-being of all of our students and staff. We are working on a plan, as are other area school divisions.”

Chesapeake

• Homeless students: 156
• Free-and-reduced eligible students: 16,278
• District plan: “In light of the Governor’s directive that schools be closed for two weeks, we are formulating a plan for ensuring these students will receive meals during the extended closing.”

Newport News

• Free-and-reduced eligible students: 21,627
• District plan: “NNPS now offers free breakfast and lunch to all students. The school division is working with the USDA and the Virginia Department of Education to offer meal service during the two-week closure. We hope to confirm all of the details next week.”

Portsmouth

• Free-and-reduced eligible students: 77.35%
• District plan: “Any child in Portsmouth in need of a meal during the school closure will be fed as part of our division’s Feeding Program. They do not have to be a PPS student, it is open to any child 18 and under. Beginning Monday, three sites will have breakfasts and lunches available: Churchland Middle, I.C. Norcom High School and Wilson High School. Breakfasts will be available from 8-9 a.m. and lunches available from 12-1 p.m.”

Williamsburg-James City County

• Economically disadvantaged students: 35.3%
• Students receiving weekly meal backpacks: 290
• District plan: “We are currently working with the Foodbank to develop a plan to distribute meals to these students while schools are closed. This could involve setting up a pickup location in the parking lot of schools in certain neighborhoods, but the details have not been finalized yet. Relatedly, we are requesting a required waiver from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to serve food items at times and locations that are outside of VDOE regulations.”

Original Article can be seen here: https://www.wavy.com/news/health/coronavirus/schools-and-foodbanks-work-to-feed-thousands-of-hungry-children-families-amid-coronavirus-crisis/