School district to distribute free meals to children 18 and under at 3 Chugiak-Eagle River schools

Update: On Monday, ASD announced it’s expanding food distribution sites to two additional schools in Chugiak and Eagle River, including Chugiak Elementary (17010 Birchtree Drive) and Homestead Elementary (18001 Baronoff Avenue). Additionally, the district is no longer requiring students to accompany their parents or older siblings who are picking up meals on their behalf.

Original story:

The Anchorage School District will begin distributing packaged lunches to children 18 and under starting at 10 a.m. Monday, March 16. The district will distribute food Monday through Friday due to the closure of schools because of the coronavirus emergency.

In Eagle River, the take-home meals will be distributed at Fire Lake Elementary (13801 Harry McDonald Road).

The U.S. is currently under a national emergency due to the global pandemic, which has caused mass disruptions in numerous countries in Asia and Europe. The CDC is recommending people not gather in groups of 50 or more for the next eight weeks to slow the spread of the virus, which is mild in most cases but has the potential to quickly overwhelm health care systems if spread quickly.

Meals will also be distributed at 17 other schools in Anchorage, including Abbott Loop Elementary, Airport Heights Elementary, Central Middle School of Science, Chester Valley Elementary, Creekside Park Elementary, Fairview Elementary, Government Hill Elementary, Klatt Elementary, Lake Otis Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Muldoon Elementary, North Star Elementary, Northwood Elementary, Ptarmigan Elementary, Russian Jack Elementary, Taku Elementary and Williwaw Elementary.

For more, visit asdk12.org.

For tips on how to prevent the spread of the virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control at cdc.org.