Schools work to feed kids during outbreak
POTTSTOWN » So many people turned out for the food being provided to borough school children Wednesday that pre-sorted supplies were quickly exhausted.
Staff worked all day Tuesday to prepare more than 8,000 meals sorted into groups of five breakfasts and five lunches.
One station was set up for walkups and another for delivery right into a vehicle.
People drove up, or walked up, said how many children lived in the house and were provided with 10 meals for each child for the week, the same they would have been eligible for when school is in session.
Many families arrived early and by 10 minutes after 12 p.m., the pre-sorted supplies at Lincoln Elementary School had been depleted.
“It went really fast,” said Principal Calista Boyer.
Franklin Elementary Principal Mary Kramer said a similar scenario unfolded at her school.
But the district personnel rallied and improvised.
There was unsorted food still back at the high school so the small trucks rented for the occasion were used to bring more supplies back to the elementary schools, where additional tables were set up and boxes provided.
Those who had not yet received their food moved along the tables and sorted their own selection.
Rubber-gloved staff kept each family back until it was their turn, all being careful to keep their distance from each other and those picking up food.
“I thought it went pretty smoothly in terms of distribution and people being cooperative and friendly,” said John Armato, the district’s director of community relations, who visited all four sites, and tweeted photos out to the community.
“Once we ran out of the presorted meals, we had to re-adjust a little bit, but everybody was extremely goal-focused on making sure children got fed,” said Armato.
“We’ll debrief in the next few days and review things like assembly of the meals, which was pretty labor-intensive,” he said.
In the Pottsgrove School District, staff handed out 670 bagged means the first day of food distribution on Tuesday.
However, the district decided that distributing food every day is too burdensome and exposes more people to more potential risk.
Starting Wednesday, the district switched to Pottstown’s model and provided a combined breakfast and lunch package for the next three days — Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The distribution points are both West Pottsgrove and Lower Pottsgrove elementary schools from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The change “will alleviate parents having to make daily trips,” Superintendent William Shirk posted on the district website.
“We will communicate any changes beginning next
Monday, March 23rd, as we moved forward. Please be assured, we will make sure this service continues for our families throughout the entire school closure,” Shirk wrote.
“We appreciate all the feedback today and we will continue to work together to strengthen our community,” he added.