Detroit-based art gallery Library Street Collective and Standby bar & restaurant have teamed up with Forgotten Harvest and the Downtown Boxing Gym to provide free dinners and a special coloring book filled with sketches by world-renowned artists to children in need.

“This initiative will provide food to kids most in need in our community while using art as a catalyst to inspire and empower,” Anthony Curis, co-founder of Library Street Collective and partner in Standby, said in a statement. “At the same time, it enables our dedicated staff at Standby - as well as the team members of our partner establishments, Deluxx Fluxx and the Skip - to continue working during this turbulent time and forced closure.”

The initiative comes as most restaurants and all schools have shut down to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

More:Where to get free food in metro Detroit during the coronavirus crisis

Roughly 86% of students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District qualify for free or reduced lunch programs. For many, school provides their essential daily nutrition.

The district began its own breakfast and lunch grab-and-go program Wednesday, but the Standby meals will add weekday dinner for at least 200 DPS students who are currently fed through the Downtown Boxing Gym. The initial goal is to provide 2,000 meals total, but that number could grow if the partners can scale up.

The gym began its own free meal delivery service to its students Wednesday, but chefs Jesse Knott and Stephen Schmidt (of The Skip and Standby respectively) will take over the cooking come Monday. Standby is donating the labor, Library Street Collective is covering food costs, and Forgotten Harvest and the Downtown Boxing Gym are doing the distribution.

“We’re just making it happen and putting it together as we go,” said Joe Robinson, managing partner of Standby, The Skip and Deluxx Fluxx, all in the Belt Alley downtown. “We want to try to keep it going as long as we can.”

Meal recipients can expect dishes like roasted chicken with polenta and sweet & sour Brussels sprouts, or braised pork shoulder with potato wedges and succotash. Curried charred cauliflower is one potential vegan option.

Meals will also come with a copy of “We All Rise,” a coloring sketchbook featuring drawings from dozens of big-name artists, both local and otherwise, including Shephard Fairey, Virgil Abloh, Tiff Massey, KAWS, Charles McGee, Nick Cave, Allie McGhee, McArthur Binion, and many more.

“I’m very honored to be teaming up with other artists in support of this initiative that will provide vital nutritional and moral support to children who may not have access otherwise and also remind them that love and community have always carried us through challenging times,” said Binion, an internationally acclaimed painter and Mumford High grad, in an emailed statement.

The idea is to offer a bit of art and inspiration to students in a time of uncertainty and isolation.

“We’re just a small piece of this and we know that, but hopefully it starts to get to other people where they start to contribute in their own small ways,” Curis said by phone Wednesday. “We want to launch this and hopefully find others to find interest in it so we can scale the project. We can grow it from thousands of meals to tens of thousands of meals and reach all the DPS students we can.”

To get involved, e-mail: info@lscgallery.com.

Send your dining tips to Free Press Restaurant Critic Mark Kurlyandchik at 313-222-5026 ormkurlyandc@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKurlyandchik and Instagram @curlyhandshake. Read more restaurant news and reviews and sign up for our Food and Dining newsletter.