JOHNSTON CITY (WSIL) -- Starting Tuesday, students at K-12 schools across Illinois will spend the next two weeks out of the classroom.
Staff at Johnston City Community School District Unit 1 have been working since Sunday to bag lunches for more than 1,100 students in the district.
"Everybody is jumping in together to help make this work," said superintendent Kathy Clark. "It's two weeks right now. We don't know, it could go further."
After Governor JB Pritzker the move Friday, the district received permission from the state to start the process of distributing those lunches. Clark says roughly 70% of students in the district come from low-income homes.
Seven school buses will begin their routes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Clark says, and drivers will stop at homes and honk when they're out front to signal parents to come out and grab the lunch.
Clark says any child under 18 years old will be eligible to get a bag of lunch as well. "They may not even be a student that's enrolled in school. It may be a younger child in the home."
Parents whose kids don't ride the bus can come to Jefferson, Lincoln or Washington Schools to pick up their bag of lunch between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
But the school district isn't the only group trying to keep students fed. Organizers at the JC Manna Mission have been collecting donations since Friday and have spent $700 on food to distribute to students.
Director Cheri Litton says parents can come to the location at 306 E. Broadway Blvd. Monday through Wednesday between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to pick up their bag of lunch.
"Stay healthy and be vigilant with cleaning. I think we're going to make it," Litton said.
