As workers without paid leave face uncertainty and grocery stores appear sparse, reducing further spread of COVID-19 is only part of the equation when it comes to alleviating the wide-reaching impact of the public health crisis.

Donating to local food banks and other organizations “designed to provide emergency access to families with food insecurity” is a key way that others can help while practicing social distancing, Aaron Pallas, TC’s Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology & Education, recently told PBS News Hour.

The novel coronavirus further compounds food insecurity in communities across the United States by shuttering schools, which provide free and subsidized lunches to millions of students nationwide.

“The sad fact is that our society relies on schools so heavily to provide basic services to kids,” says Pallas, who has also recently discussed how this challenge specifically applies to New York City public schools. “The closure of those schools really puts families and communities at risk.”

For more ways to aid others during the COVID-19 pandemic, read more in PBS News Hour.