photo by: Contributed photo

Volunteers on Tuesday, March, 17, 2020 at Schwegler Elementary School, 2201 Ousdahl Rd., stand ready to provide free lunch to students in need as schools are closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Story updated at 10:34 a.m. Wednesday

Lawrence Public Schools will distribute free meals to local children just once more, on Thursday, before shutting down the program for the rest of April, the school district announced Wednesday.

The district will also discontinue in-person technology services, such as device repairs and replacement, beginning Friday. In a message on its website and social media, the district said it “encourages all staff to stay at home for the rest of April” and would continue to evaluate its plans for May. Staff members who are providing educational and support services remotely will continue to do so, the district said.

The district began providing free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch after health orders related to the coronavirus pandemic closed school buildings in the middle of March. The district previously said it was distributing an average of 1,000 meals a day through the program. At the end of March, it altered elements of the program in an effort to reduce risk to staff, volunteers and families, though it had planned to continue the program until May 20.

The final meal pick-up will be held Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., while supplies last, at Hillcrest Elementary, 1045 Hilltop Drive; Kennedy Elementary School, 1605 Davis Road; Schwegler Elementary, 2201 Ousdahl Road; Billy Mills Middle School, 2734 Louisiana St.; and Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, 1400 Massachusetts St.

Other nearby school districts in Tonganoxie and Kansas City, Mo., closed their school meal programs recently after people involved with those programs tested positive for COVID-19. In its announcement Wednesday, the Lawrence school district did not note any particular event that led to its decision to shut down its program and said the move was made “in order to support the health and safety of our community during the anticipated peak time for COVID-19.”

About 35% of the 12,000 students in the Lawrence school district qualified for free or reduced-price lunch from schools during the 2018-19 academic year, according to the latest data from the Kansas State Department of Education. Of those 4,183 students, 3,417 were approved for free lunches, according to state statistics.

Local food pantries, such as Just Food, and some local businesses continue to offer free meals to people in need.