For Antoinette Cummings, the students she sees every day in the Jennings middle school cafeteria aren’t just students.

"Those are my babies," she said.

Cummings and most of her nutrition staff co-workers — along with teachers, counselors and other staff — will not see their babies for at least the next several weeks after the state ordered schools closed until at least April 3.

But Monday morning, Cummings and her fellow Jennings lunch ladies were at the school packing hundreds of fresh meals to make sure no child goes hungry during the time off.

Akron Public Schools last week announced it would provide breakfast and lunch in to-go bags four days a week at every neighborhood school starting Tuesday.

Director of Operations Deb Foulk said she started organizing a planned food distribution at the beginning of last week when it looked like a closure was possible. Staff took inventory of the warehouse and each school’s kitchen, but they had to await guidance from the federal government because of limitations put on their school lunch program.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that schools would close starting at the end of the day Monday, although most closed before that.

Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s school lunch program granted waivers for districts that close because of coronavirus to continue providing food to students through take-home options. The waiver also allowed multiple meals to be distributed at the same time.

Still, it left Akron schools staff little time to figure out how to convert an in-person school lunch program into a grab-and-go option for 20,000 to 30,000 children.

"We have no idea what to expect, who’s coming," said Laura Kepler, coordinator of the district’s food distribution center.

At the warehouse, staff volunteered to assemble clear bags with graham crackers, string cheese, milk, bread and apple slices for breakfast, and sandwiches, snacks and milk for lunch.

At 37 schools, nutrition staff was called in to bag salads, make fresh sandwiches and assemble any other meals possible to make use of food already at the schools.

"All of our employees have stepped up," Kepler said.

Jennings staff packed about 250 meals to start, unsure how long that would last. The building feeds about 700 children every school day.

In high-poverty districts like Akron, many students rely on the schools for two meals every weekday. Closures always mean balancing the need to keep students safe with the awareness that some children might not have enough to eat if there is no school.

Now, the districts also have to plan for ways to distribute food while limiting staff and student exposure to those who may be sick or have come in contact with someone who is sick.

"We are trying to keep it as accessible as possible within the guidelines of limiting contact," Kepler said.

Schools will be minimally staffed 9:30-11:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday to distribute the meals. Any child under age 18 will be given food, regardless of where they go to school.

That could bring children from all over the region to Akron, although most other districts are finding ways to provide their students lunches as well. Only high-poverty districts were given clearance to be reimbursed by the federal government for lunches that go to any child, not just ones who attend school there.

Children are supposed to be present to get a meal, Foulk said, "but obviously if a parent came and had two kids and said, ‘I have three,’ I'm sure that we would do our best to service that family."

The chance to see students several times a week, even for just a few minutes, is a way for school leaders to check in on them, Foulk said.

"It’s a way for us to know that our kids are OK," she said.

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.