While the University of Michigan has canceled classes in response to the COVID-19 virus and advised students to leave campus if they are able, some organizations and local restaurants have continued food distribution at no cost to help those in the community facing food insecurity. Food banks such as the University’s Maize and Blue Cupboard and Washtenaw County’s Food Gatherers are continuing their services during the coming weeks to assure that no one in the community will go hungry. Helen Starman, chief development officer of Food Gatherers, said many people will be feeling the effects of food insecurity for the very first time due to layoffs spurred by COVID- 19. Starman said Food Gatherers is providing meals to these people, as well as others who have benefited from their organization in the past. “There are going to be people in this community who have never needed it before who are going to find that they need food,” Starman said. “We are open, we will stay open and we are here to provide food to anyone who needs it.” Starman said Food Gatherers recognizes the risk that public school shutdowns in Washtenaw County pose to children on free or reduced meals. To alleviate the burden on families, Starman said the non-profit has set up locations in the community for families to collect two pre-made meals a day per child under the age of 18. This not only goes for children who are registered for reduced or free meals at school but for any child enrolled in the county public school system under 18. Additionally, any individual enrolled in special education programs through the public school system may collect their two meals a day if they are 26 or younger. Starman said the food bank acquires the food by coordinating with school systems and then distributing the food to the people who need it. “What’s happening right now in this sort of emergency situation is that each school district in Washtenaw County is taking the lead in providing meals to their kids, and those meals are being paid for by the Michigan Department of Education,” Starman said. “The MDE has now said, ‘You can give meals to anybody. You don’t have to check the kids at the door and provide information about needing reduced priced or free meals.’ So, our role in that is coordinating and helping people know where to get the food and how to pick it up.” Starman also said the organization recognizes some families cannot access the facilities during the hours that Food Gatherers is open so they are trying to be flexible and cater to the community’s needs. michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, March 25, 2020 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Food Gatherers, Maize and Blue Cupboard remain open for distributing necessary goods ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE WIEBE EMMA RUBERG Daily Staff Reporter See FOOD, Page 3 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. INDEX Vol. CXXIX, No. 91 ©2020 The Michigan Daily N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 michigandaily.com For more stories and coverage, visit Follow The Daily on Instagram, @michigandaily ADMINISTRATION Arthur Tarnow, U.S. district court judge, deemed the University of Michigan’s former sexual misconduct policy unconstitutional on Monday. The lawsuit, Doe v. University of Michigan, was filed in June 2018. The plaintiff, John Doe, a male undergraduate student was accused of sexual assault by a female student in his residence hall. Sexual misconduct policy deemed unconstitutional EMMA STEIN Daily News Editor Judge rules against ‘U’ guidelines 2020 census begins amid COVID-19 Bureau initiates data collection as many students leave campus, return home Data collection for the 2020 Census began early last week, just as many students left their colleges amid the COVID-19 pandemic to return home. The U.S. Census Bureau released a statement on March 15 detailing how their operations would change to ensure people are accurately counted. The statement declared the Bureau is committed to counting as many students as possible. The Bureau also said students should respond with their school address — regardless of where they are living on Census Day, April 1 — and has provided answers to common questions on their website. “We are adjusting operations to make sure college students are counted,” the press release said. “In general, students in colleges and universities temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus will still be counted as part of this process. … We are asking schools to contact their students and remind them to respond.” LSA junior Carolyn Chen, a political science major, said she thought getting students to respond would be difficult, as they may instead be focused on their schoolwork and the effects of COVID-19. She also said students may not understand the impact of the census, as it is not widely publicized, and therefore they may not take time to respond. “Unfortunately, the ... census is not the number one priority for many students right now,” Chen said. “The census’s impact is not something that gains a lot of recognition, and if there was low visibility about census issues before the pandemic, then there is probably even less visibility now. The news is filled with so many other headlines that the importance of data accuracy does not even cross many people’s minds.” JENNA SITEMAN Daily Staff Reporter DESIGN BY TAYLOR SCHOTT See CENSUS, Page 3 Local food banks provide resources for community amid coronavirus outbreak See POLICY, Page 2