What you need to know about getting food from Chicago Public Schools during coronavirus closures

Where, when and how you can pick up food for your kids, plus other questions answered.

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Students eat breakfast at their desks at Roswell B. Mason Elementary School, 1830 S. Keeler Ave., in November.

Students eat breakfast at their desks at Roswell B. Mason Elementary School, 1830 S. Keeler Ave., in November.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

When Illinois schools close Tuesday to slow the spread of the coronavirus, families across the state will still be able to pick up free food for their kids.

At Chicago Public Schools, which annually serves 40 million lunches and 20 million breakfasts, any family can get food for each student for as long as schools are closed, no questions asked.

Here’s where, when and how you can pick up food for your kids, plus other questions answered:

What’s in the food packages?

Every package will include three days worth of breakfast and lunch for one child. If you have two CPS children, you can pick up two packages, and so on. The packages include a mix of the following for breakfast: cereal, a nutritional bar, an orange or apple and milk. For lunch, they’ll include either a hamburger, a chicken, ham or turkey sandwich, a hot dog, or sunbutter and jelly dippers. Lunch meals will also have fruit, vegetables and chocolate milk.

Do I have to pick up food at my student’s school?

No, you can go to any CPS school to get a package of food. It doesn’t matter if it’s the school your student attends, the school closest to your home or any other school, you can get food there with no questions asked.