MARSHALL — Ever since Marshall Public Schools began offering take-home meals for local children, more and more people have been participating in the program. In the days leading up to the Easter holiday break, MPS staff and Southwest Coaches school bus drivers helped distribute close to 1,000 meals a day, said Dion Caron, director of business services for MPS.

“Every day, we’ve increased the number of meals that were given out,” Caron said.

Starting today, the packed meals will be available for kids again, with two additional pickup locations in Marshall.

“We just want to make sure kids are getting fed,” Caron said. The meals are available for all children age 18 and under.

The free meal packages will be available at Marshall Middle School, outside St. Stephen Lutheran Church, outside Samuel Lutheran School, outside Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and two new locations: the back parking lot at Park Side Elementary, and the parking lot of AP Design at 501 South Minnesota Highway 23.

MPS tried to spread out the pickup sites to cover different areas of town, Caron said. However, kids in some neighborhoods ended up having to cross busy streets or go a long way to get to their nearest meal site. The new locations will be safer and closer to children in the neighborhoods around Park Side, and south of Minnesota Highway 23. Caron estimated that there were around 70 MPS students in the area near AP Design, and while there is a pedestrian bridge over Highway 23, it’s not necessarily a short trip for kids to walk or bike to Marshall Middle School from there.

Free meal packages will be available Monday through Friday in Marshall while Minnesota schools are ordered closed. The packages, which contain a sack lunch, a breakfast and a snack, will be available for pickup from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The meals are grab-and-go, and kids aren’t allowed to eat their lunches inside the schools. However, Caron said parents are now allowed to pick up meals for their children.

Last week, MPS distributed 962 meals on Monday and 974 meals on Tuesday. On Wednesday, 1,304 meal packages were distributed, Caron said. On that day, the meal packages included extra food to help carry students through the long Easter holiday weekend.

At this point, Caron said, it’s not certain whether the holiday break was a factor in the number of kids and families picking up meals, or if the numbers are going to be that high again starting Tuesday.

People with questions about the free meal program can call the MPS district office at 507-537-6924.