BANGOR, Maine — Many school districts across the state continue to announce closures, but that leaves many children with nowhere to go and nothing to eat.
Jersey's Subs and Sweets is offering free bagged lunch to students in need, no questions asked.
"My kid doesn't have school for the next two weeks so I know that there is, he has some friends that go to school and they eat lunch you know multiple meals a day at school," Jersey's owner, Jason Coleman, said.
Jersey's is getting some help from WA Bean. It is donating the meats for the sandwiches.
When WA Bean was approached by Jersey's marketing and sales director, Sean Smith, he said it was a no brainer.
"Without hesitation of course. Didn't really realize the initial impact. It was just, this is what you do community rallies around each other," Smith said.
Now others in the greater Bangor community are offering to help, and other small businesses across the state are following suit.
"I'm flabbergasted by the outpouring of support and stuff like that," Smith said.
As we reported earlier this week, the United States Department of Agriculture approved funding to allow schools to still provide lunch to students who need it.
"You can't have too many options," Coleman said.
Options for lunches, yes. But what about options for people who now need childcare?
The Bangor Region YMCA looks to help with that. It is closing its fitness center due to COVID-19 concerns, but opening the doors to children that need somewhere to go while schools are closed.
"We're structuring this the same way that we structure it for our vacation week, so the kids are with us from 6:30 in the morning to 6:00 at night," Diane Dickerson, CEO of the Bangor Region YMCA, said.
Kids attending this program will sanitize their hands and take their temperature before they walk through the door of the Y, to ensure no sick child attends this program.
If the weather allows it, they may also go to the Camp Jordan facility on Branch Pond in Ellsworth to enjoy some fresh air and have more social distancing space.