photo by: USD 497

Volunteers help distribute free meals for children at a Lawrence school site in April 2020.

Story updated at 3:21 p.m. Wednesday

A program offering children free meals for pickup on weekdays at Lawrence schools has been expanded to include the weekend.

The Lawrence school district announced Wednesday that meals will now be available for pickup by children from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at four school sites: Hillcrest Elementary, 1045 Hilltop Drive; Schwegler Elementary, 2201 Ousdahl Road.; Billy Mills Middle School, 2734 Louisiana St.; and Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, 1400 Massachusetts St.

The same sites offer curbside pickup from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday through a partnership that involves members of the Lawrence Restaurant Association, Hy-Vee, the Lawrence chamber of commerce, the Lawrence Schools Foundation and the United Way of Douglas County. The current program, which replaced a similar service operated by the school district and is scheduled to continue through at least May 1, was expected to provide a total of 2,600 meals a day, the Journal-World previously reported.

Last week, Douglas County and the City of Lawrence were set to provide $87,000 of gap funding to support the meal program. But Hugh Carter, the chamber’s vice president for external affairs, said Wednesday that their funding will no longer be needed because the Lawrence Schools Foundation and other groups are on the verge of collecting the needed money through fundraising efforts and grants.

Carter also said the foundation is still accepting donations and the fundraising could end up providing a little more than what is needed for the program. He said if that becomes a reality, the groups involved will discuss how that additional funding could be used.

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.

Evening meals and pantry items will continue to be available from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence’s Center for Great Futures, 2910 Haskell Ave. Other local food banks, social service organizations and local businesses are also offering a variety of free meals and pantry items. A detailed list of food resources can be found through the county’s website at douglascountyks.org/coronavirus.