San Francisco Boys & Girls Club to keep some sites open, provide lunch

Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco said Thursday it is keeping seven of its 13 San Francisco locations open for limited hours serving a limited number of youths with small-group programming and a daily lunch service to ensure children do not go without daily nutrition.

The organization said it is in regular communication with city agencies for guidance during the novel coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in a blanket shelter in place order.

BGCSF said in an announcement that it qualifies as an essential business as a provider of food and social services and is complying with San Francisco Department of Public Health guidelines for childcare and youth services providers regarding social distancing.

Locations that will be open with additional health precautions in place are Columbia Park Clubhouse, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Don Fisher Clubhouse, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Excelsior Clubhouse, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Mission Clubhouse, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunnydale Clubhouse, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Visitacion Valley Clubhouse, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Willie Mays Clubhouse, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The organization's school-based clubs and the Tenderloin Clubhouse are closed until further notice.

"For more than two weeks now, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco has been taking measures within our clubhouses to stop the spread of the virus and to effectively communicate with our families about the steps they should be taking, too," BGCSF President Rob Connolly said in a statement. "We work in communities that face significant challenges in the best of times. Abruptly taking critical resources like the Club out of communities during a time of heightened stress and anxiety could have significant unintended consequences."

If BGCSF closes all its locations at some point it still intends to continue providing daily lunch and offer a virtual clubhouse program to provide for disadvantaged young people.