While schools are closed, students and families in Mountain View and Los Altos will still have access to free meals provided by the public school districts.

Food distribution to students is considered an "essential" activity and can continue to operate despite new restrictions placed on non-essential activity, travel and business under a new shelter-in-place order announced by Bay Area public health officials on Monday afternoon. Food can only be provided for pickup and it cannot be eaten at the locations where it's provided, the order states.

Since Wednesday, the Mountain View Whisman School District has been preparing lunch and breakfast for its students who receive free and reduced-price meals as well as for those students from the Los Altos School and the Mountain View Los Altos High School districts.

Students at the Mountain View Whisman and high school districts can pick up their meals at Gabriela Mistral Elementary School, 505 Escuela Ave. in Mountain View, between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. They won't be checking IDs and will offer the meals to children under 18 there every weekday until school reopens.

Students who receive free and reduced price meals in the Los Altos School District may pick up, drive-through style, at Egan Junior High School at 100 W. Portola Ave. in Los Altos between noon and 12:30 each day, according to district Superintendent Jeff Baier.

Elena Kadvany contributed to this report.