LAVACA, Arkansas — UPDATE: The Lavaca School District will resume its breakfast and lunch program on Monday, April 13.
The Lavaca School District had to temporarily suspend its meals to go program after getting second-hand information on Monday (April 6).
The school district couldn't provide more details on the reasoning but say they did it out of an abundance of caution.
Now the community is stepping in to make sure no kids go hungry.
“It’s a great picture of this community out here in Lavaca and Central City,” Russ Tyler said.
Tyler is the Pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Central City and says they knew they had to make sure the more than 200 students who were getting those meals still did.
“The food bank Fort Smith has graciously stepped up to the plate," he said. "Union Baptist Church in Lavaca as well. First Baptist, we are going to be able to use their facility there to be able to distribute out the food."
Tyler says because of the food banks help they will also get to send students home with breakfast and dinner along with lunch.
“You know there are expenses that are going to happen with this, but I just told our finance team at the church that it doesn’t matter, that we are going to meet these needs," he said. "So, folks have asked and folks just showed up. Our financial secretary emailed me last night saying someone has already given $100 to help provide food."
Kyle Horton is the pastor at Union Baptist Church and on Wednesday (April 8) they passed out close to 200 meals. He says he can’t imagine how parents must have felt once they heard the schools wouldn’t be able to provide their kids with lunch.
“Some of them have lost their jobs, some have different circumstances take place in their families and now they aren’t going to have a meal," Horton said. "You should’ve seen smiling faces, happy people being able to know that their community hasn’t forgotten them."
The churches say they will be able to provide lunches for the students until the school district is able to resume their meals-to-go program.
Those meals will be ready for pickup at First Baptist Church in Lavaca weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at building K. The Lavaca School District says it will provide updates about when the meals program will resume.