Giving Compass' Take:

• Katherine Martinko writes about the impact of school closures on low-income kids' access to food as the coronavirus continues to spread.

• What can we do to help those most affected by coronavirus and the closure of facilities? Who in your community will be impacted? 

• Access a resource to guide donors in their efforts to support communities affected by COVID-19.

School closures due to the coronavirus mean that children across the United States have to go without formal lessons. But many are missing more than that; they're lacking meals that were formerly provided to them by school administrators. Two-thirds of the 31 million American kids who regularly eat school lunches depend heavily on those meals to nourish their bodies. As reported in Civil Eats, "Low-income kids similarly constitute the majority of the 14.6 million who eat school breakfast and the 1.3 million who receive an after-school supper." Now many people are wondering how these children will get by if their only reliable food source is no longer accessible.

These are strange and alarming times, with the coronavirus situation evolving rapidly by the day. Low-income families suffer the most in times like these. They have less cash on hand to stockpile groceries and less space in which to store it; they may not have a vehicle in which to transport large quantities of food; their jobs tend to be more precarious, and other members of the community who normally make food and cash donations to local food banks may be thinking more about themselves these days. It's important to remember this and to continue donating, supporting, and showing compassion to less fortunate individuals in times of difficulty. It shouldn't be left entirely to school administrators to figure out how to feed hungry children; every community has a duty to ensure this happens.

Read the full article about coronavirus' impact on low-income kids who can't get school lunches by Katherine Martinko at TreeHugger.