Contributed photo
Loading meals at Ansonia High School.
ANSONIA — The school district has delivered more than 10,000 meals in 30 days to students learning at home, officials announced Thursday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools until May 20, at least.
When the lockdown started in mid-March, school districts not only had to figure out how to implement “distance learning” programs — they had to come up with a plan to deliver breakfast and lunch to people under 18.
Ansonia is a “Community Eligibility Provision” district, which means all students receive free breakfast and lunch.
It’s funded by the USDA Child Nutrition program.
When the school buildings closed, Superintendent Joseph DiBacco, central office staff, food services staff, school security officers and All-Star Transportation teamed to form the “Mobile Meals Distribution Program.”
It launched March 18.
The program starts each day at 6:30 a.m. at Ansonia High School with about 20 food service workers preparing and then packaging meals — all while adhering to new regulations issued in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“They are working hard every day, and I want them to know that we are grateful for what they do every day,” the superintendent said in a prepared statement.
Four school buses are used to get the meals to the community. They leave the campus around 11 a.m. and follow the same route to stops throughout the city, making about 20 stops total.
About 550 kids and teens receive about 1,100 meals a day, a 22 percent increase in 30 days.
At each stop, “people have been very good about following social distancing guidelines,” according to Bob Lisi, the school district’s youth outreach officer.
Parents and guardians take the meals home from the stops. On the first day of the program, some parents walked to get the meals, others waited in cars waiting for the buses to arrive.
Christine Wallace, a consultant with the district’s nutrition program, said she expects more meals to be delivered as the weather improves — and as finances tighten for families having trouble making ends meet.
“We know that these meals go a long way in keeping high nutrition standards for kids, who are in their major growth years,” Wallace said in a statement.
The Mobile Meals Distribution Program will continue while school buildings are closed.
This information was taken from an Ansonia School District press release. The full release is available here.
The schedule.
