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Reimagining Education

Resources to deal with the financial impact of the pandemic

The rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic is having very real impacts on families lives in Missouri, leaving many with limited or no incomes and shortages of food and basic supplies.

The problem is particularly bad for low-income students, many of who depended on schools that are now closed for daily meals.

CEAM is working to keep our families informed of what resources are out there to help them during this trying time and is creating a database of those resources below.

A constantly updated list of resources can be found here.

Food resources

Food for students

Many low-income students depend on their school for breakfast and lunch every day. Long-term school closures mean those students may not know where their next meal is coming from. School districts in St. Louis and Kansas City stepped up to provide distribution of food at the beginning of the crisis, but had to stop after workers contracted virus:

In St. Louis, SLPS is now offering weekly meal kits that contain weeks worth of food and can be picked up Fridays from 8 a.m. until noon at the following locations:

North City Schools:

SchoolAddress
Bryan Hill 2128 E. Gano
Clay3820 N. 14th
Hamilton5819 Westminster Place
Hickey3111 Cora
Jefferson 1301 Hogan
Langston 5511 Wabada
Lexington5030 Lexington
Nance8959 Riverview
Patrick Henry1220 N. 10th
Pierre Laclede 5821 Kennerly
Soldan918 Union
Vashon3035 Cass
Walbridge5000 Davison
Yeatman 4265 Athlone

Downtown/South City Schools:

SchoolAddress
Carnahan 4041 S. Broadway
Fanning3417 Grace
Froebel3709 Nebraska
Long5028 Morganford
Lyon @ Blow516 Loughborough
Mallinckrodt 6020 Pernod
Mullanphy4221 Shaw
Oak Hill4300 Morganford
Peabody 1224 S. 14th
Roosevelt3230 Hartford
Shaw5329 Columbia
Sigel2050 Allen
Wilkinson1921 Prather

Here are additional resources for student meals throughout the region:

St. Louis County Public Libraries and Operation Food Search are providing drive-thru food pick-up for children from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. at nine SLCL branches.

Drive-thru Food Pick-up for kids will be available at the following branches from 10:00-12:00 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday:

Bridgeton Trails Branch, 3455 McKelvey Rd. Bridgeton, MO 63044-2500

Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., S. Florissant, MO 63031-6796

Indian Trails Branch, 8400 Delport Dr. St. Louis, MO 63114-5904

Jamestown Bluffs Branch, 4153 N. Highway 67 Florissant, MO 63034-2825

Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63136-5322

Natural Bridge Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd. St. Louis, MO 63121-4905

Prairie Commons Branch, 915 Utz Ln. Hazelwood, MO 63042-2739

Rock Road Branch, 10267 St. Charles Rock Rd. St. Ann, MO 63074-1812

Weber Road Branch, 4444 Weber Rd. St. Louis, MO 63123-6744

A collaborative of regional services is maintaining a database of regional food sites for students at All Our Kids. That information is also listed below, but feel free to check their site for updates:

Restaurants offering free food for students

Several area restaurants are also stepping up to offer free food for students during the pandemic. Those include:

KCPS is providing pick up lunches and meal kits for students in the free and reduced lunch program. Students WILL need their student ID in order to pick up lunches.

Four distribution zone sites have been established.

Tuesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 26 
7-11 a.m. and 1-6 p.m.

Locations:

  • Northeast High School (415 Van Brunt Blvd.) 
  • Central High School (3221 Indiana Ave.) 
  • East High School (1924 Van Brunt Blvd.) 
  • African-Centered College Preparatory Academy-Lower Campus (6410 Swope Pkwy)

Monday, March 30 and Wednesday, April 1
7-11 a.m. and 1-6 p.m. 

Locations: 

  • Northeast High School (415 Van Brunt Blvd.) 
  • Central High School (3221 Indiana Ave.) 
  • East High School (1924 Van Brunt Blvd.) 
  • African-Centered College Preparatory Academy-Lower Campus (6410 Swope Pkwy)

KCPS has also established a special sign up link for families who need direct delivery of food. This includes children who are in their Students in Transition Program (homeless) and those who are in their special education programs. Please email food@kcpublicschools.org or call 816.418.3663 (FOOD) if your family needs home delivery. For more information check out their website.

Here is a link to a regional list of student meal resources in the Kansas City area.

Other food resources

In the St. Louis area Operation Food Search is organizing is helping families in need of food during the pandemic:

And the St. Louis Foodbank has an online app to find a food pantry near you. It can be found here.

In the Kansas City area Harvesters offers a similar app that can be found here.

Other resources

Here is a table of key contact numbers and websites for dealing with the pandemic in the St. Louis region, thanks to eh Mayor’s Office. Below the table, you can find out additional information about other resources in the area.

Charter will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
Ameren Missouri teamed up with United Way of Greater St. Louis to provide help for customers who have been laid off or had their hours cut due to Coronavirus. The new Ameren Missouri Coronavirus Income Relief Program offers $250 to the accounts of affected customers who don’t usually qualify for energy assistance. Customers can apply for the relief assistance if their job has been impacted by the coronavirus and they meet qualifications based on household size and income.
Circle of concern provides a wide variety of resources for families in west St. Louis County with a total household income of up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Services include a food pantry, emergency financial assistance, and scholarships. If you qualify reach out to them at 636-861-2623.
Stray Rescue is opening its doors as a pet food pantry. They will help the community by providing a bag of pet food for anyone who is in need. If you or your neighbors need help with pet food, please call the shelter at 314-771-6121 or email Julia@strayrescue.org to schedule a pick up time. They encourage you to bring your own container so they can help as many families in need as possible. They will also personally deliver pet food to any quarantined individuals who are unable to pick up the food themselves. (Must be open to any available brand of food).
Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic volunteer organization dedicated to helping all people in need, regardless of faith. Assistance is provided directly through parish-based St. Vincent de Paul conferences (chapters) located throughout the St. Louis region.

This fund will provide short term monetary relief to employees and owners of independent bars, restaurants, and shops in the St. Louis area affected by closures and other circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund will consider covering personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred as a result of the outbreak. The Gateway Resilience Fund will make direct grants to eligible applicants or pay their bills. In addition, there are grants available for small businesses in downtown St. Louis. See application for details.
2-1-1 offers a comprehensive database of non-profits and thousands of available resources in Missouri and Illinois, as well as a number of solutions for partners who want to better serve their clients.
For statewide information on educational policies during the pandemic check out DESE’s COVID page.