School vacation has emptied the Island of many families this week, but you’d hardly know it at the West Tisbury library when lunchtime rolls around.

“At one point [Monday], there were probably 40 or 50 people hanging out in the community room, getting soup or getting soup to go,” said library director Alexandra Pratt.

Every weekday through March 1, the library is serving a free soup and bread lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for schoolchildren on break and anyone else who needs a hot, wholesome midday meal.

When the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Trust began its seafood donation program earlier this year, the nonprofit ran into an obstacle that regularly confronts other Island anti-hunger groups: a shortage of places to store the food.

Island Grown Initiative receives $13,270 for its work as part of the statewide Buy Local Coalition.

With an Islandwide shutdown beginning to weigh on the Vineyard’s most vulnerable residents, volunteers are needed during the coronavirus emergency.

The Vineyard Food Equity Network is working to go beyond Meals on Wheels to bridge a gap and reach hungry seniors around the Island.