SAN MARCOS — Before closing temporarily in compliance with the statewide social distancing measures, the Anita & Stan Maag Food & Nutrition Center at Palomar College distributed hundreds of pounds of food to students facing food insecurity.

With a limited amount of time before the distancing effort went into effect, the center’s staff created an online order form overnight that enabled them to prepare orders for students while maintaining the required social distance.

The staff also pre-bagged items and distributed them in the main parking lot off West Mission Road, enabling students to receive their mixed food items without getting out of their cars.

Every bag of food included information on additional locations students can rely on for both hot and cold food distribution. On the first day of this arrangement, more than 300 students were served, drive-thru style, in the outdoors distribution at the front of campus.

Ultimately, the center distributed 80 percent of its product in the effort to prepare students for the extended shelter-in-place orders now in effect.