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Starting Saturday, church members will be expanding those relationships to include hungry kids, hungry families and parents in desperate need of child care.

“We have obligations to people in our community,” said the Rev. Jason Karampatsos, lead pastor at New Life, 2416 N. Wright Road.

The church’s senior staff decided Monday to start or expand several ministries. They include:

• Offering drive-thru lunches from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday while schools are closed. Lunches will be provided for each child in the car who is 18 and younger. Nut-free lunches will be prepared separately and offered as needed.

“We reached out to the Janesville School District, and they shared that they didn’t have anyone signed up for Saturday,” Karampatsos said.

Teams of fewer than 10 people will work in shifts to prepare lunches. The church expects to feed 250 people.

• Expanding the Tuesday night drive-thru food pantry to provide “additional care as needed,” Karampatsos said.

“They’ve already seen an increase in the number of people coming to the food pantry,” he said.

• Expanding day care services. The church had planned to expand its day care and preschool in fall, and the state has already done initial inspections.

The move will help address a shortage of child care options while schools are closed. State officials have asked child care centers to remain open and expand their capacity whenever they can safely do so.

The state has approved the church’s decision. Church officials are seeking qualified child care workers and teachers. They plan to open up spots in early April.

For more information about day care, parents can call 608-757-2240.