Three area daycare providers have started preparing and distributing free sack lunches and snacks seven days per week to help local residents who have been financially hurt by the coronavirus outbreak.

Starting on Saturday, Whoville Daycare, 844 McKinley Ave., and Adventures in Daycare, 172 Park Lawn Ave., Chubbuck, began teaming up to offer the food assistance every day, including weekends, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meals are distributed from the Adventures in Daycare location in Chubbuck.

In Pocatello, ABC Kid City Daycare, 231 S. Arthur Ave., started giving away free meals from 11 am. to 1 p.m. on Monday and will also provide the service on both week days and weekends. Children needn’t be present for an adult to pick up food on their behalf from the daycares.

The daycare providers are reimbursed for their food costs by the Nutrition Works Child and Adult Care Food Program, which is federally funded through USDA.

Thanks to their efforts, community members in need have another option to access free food for children under age 18 during weekends, when a program offered by Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 isn’t available.

School District 25 distributes sack lunches and breakfasts from several area parks. The daycare providers say their locations are also more convenient for some parents and provide a backup option in case the school district runs out of food at a park distribution site.

“We’ve seen a lot (of people who) had a need for it, so any way we can help out in the community we’re going to,” said Melanie Randall, owner of Adventures in Daycare.

Randall said she’s been giving away a few hundred meals every day. Her partner in food distribution, Leah Twiss, owner of Whoville, anticipates demand for their meals will continue to grow as word spreads about the service.

Randall’s sister-in-law, Amber Pannell, owns ABC Kids. Pannell explained the three daycares work with Nutrition Works for the meals they offer to clients and were given the option of preparing more food to help the broader community. The free meals are closely regulated to meet USDA dietary guidelines.

“I know there are a lot of children in our area who are home now,” Pannell said. “Maybe they need snacks. Maybe their parents are low on funds and things like that. We want to help in any way we can.”

All three of the daycares remain open, though their attendance has been down significantly. The daycares received word on Monday that the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend that employees and children over 2 wear protective face masks.

Pannell said parents are also being asked to drop their children off at the back door rather than walking them inside. Furthermore, she recently started taking children’s temperatures at the door before admitting them to make certain that they aren’t sick.

The daycare providers say their service is needed now more than ever for workers who must continue performing essential services, including nurses, doctors, nursing home staff, first responders and grocery store workers.

“They need daycare. Where are they going to take their children if their daycare is closed?” Pannell said.