Central Valley school districts find new ways to serve meals to students this semester

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Valley school districts are working overtime to make sure students get the meals they need this semester.

Initially, there were concerns about funding.

"We didn't know until the 11th hour that they were going to fund us through the regular feeding program and when it would start back," said Superintendent of Visalia Unified School District, Tamara Ravalin. "But it was a huge relief for us to be able to do this for our families."

Once funding was secured, kitchens were up and running, but meal delivery would look different this semester for many districts. One example, parents may be picking up several days' worth of food instead of just one.

"Everything's pre-packaged, so we're going to try and bundle that up for a few days, so we don't have parents going out of the way every single day to pick up their meals," said Central Unified Superintendent Andrew Alvarado.

Central Unified is even utilizing buses to get lunches out to students that need them in more rural areas.

"We're using our transportation to deliver those meals into our remote communities, but we're going to continue to provide those meals to the community," continued Alvarado.

You can find the details of their meal distributions on their website.

Visalia Unified is another district transitioning to grab and go meals. Families can pick up a five-day meal pack consisting of a week's worth of both breakfast and lunch. You can find more info on their website.

"So many of our students need that support," added Ravalin. "During the normal school year, we provide about 18,000 lunches a day, so our students and families depend on it."

Fresno Unified will offer breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of income level, when they start up Monday. Meals will be offered at over 60 locations on a grab and go basis. Here's the details on their times and locations.

Clovis Unified will offer meals, similar to last spring. Breakfast and lunch will be available for pick up in the mornings at select locations.