School nutrition trending: Coronavirus forces schools to close while nutrition programs find ways to feed students

This month, K-12 schools faced several hurdles including state-wide shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue waived the group setting requirement for providing meals at no charge to students in schools closed due to concerns about the coronavirus. Perdue’s announcement was effective immediately and will cover efforts triggered by school closings through June 30, 2020. He also updated the School Nutrition Association on the status of Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

To aid students who recieve meals at school, the Elk Grove Unified School District in California began offering a drive-through meal service consisting of breakfast and lunch for all of their families at 13 of its schools.

Also, school meal program members of the School Nutrition Association (SNA) responded to a survey sent by the SNA to gather feedback and assess efforts to serve students in need during coronavirus-related school closures. The School Nutrition Association survey finds emergency school feeding efforts are confronting regulatory hurdles. Feeding plans vary widely, include grab and go, drive-thru, multiple meals at a time, delivery to community sites and more.

See what else was trending in K-12 noncommercial foodservice this month.