Just hours after Broome County announced the closure of all of its schools, a group of local restaurants began stepping up, offering to provide free meals to students in need.

It all started with Craft in Binghamton.

"The first need that comes to mind, especially to me as a father, is how the kids are going to get fed, and I think the county has done an amazing job to keeping every school district's lunch meals going, and we just wanted to jump in and fill in the gaps wherever we could," said Craft Owner Adam Tuttle.

Craft is providing 50 slider boxes to local children every Monday and Friday.

Following their announcement, they then asked three downtown restaurants to follow suit. Within minutes, dozens of businesses from Binghamton to Endicott began stepping up.

"It's heartwarming, but at the same time, I kind of expected it from our community. We come together when these things happen and it's just really overwhelming in a good way to see everyone putting out breakfast, or lunch or dinner," said Tuttle.

Throughout the closure, all Broome County schools will also be offering free meals for pickup. Restaurant owners say they're hoping to ease that burden in any way possible.

"I just think about the parents again. The last thing they should think about is food in their kids' tummies. If we can help through our industry, which is what we do, then we're more than happy to do so," said Tuttle.

Boxes are available at Craft Mondays and Fridays at 11:30 a.m., and must be picked up by a child accompanied by a parent.