Vital, at-risk workers School food staffers provide for needy, fear for own health
City school food workers are used to being called on in times of crisis.
When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, Donald Nesbitt, then a cook at a Brooklyn public school, packed a bag and slept at school so he could continue making food for the many students who relied on him for their regular meals.
But the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down city schools through at least April and sent home more than a million students, has presented unprecedented challenges for the city’s 9,000 school food workers, who are still working full time to churn out meals for needy families.
Many workers, including those who are elderly or have chronic health conditions, say they’re being pushed to the brink, and offered little in the way of protection. Some have decided to stay home altogether.
“I had to make a choice of getting paid or my health,” said Donna Broxton, a school food worker in Brooklyn with chronic bronchitis who decided to stay home out of fear of catching the virus and transmitting it to her elderly parents. “And I feel that is so unfair.”
School food workers are at the front line of the city’s response to the sweeping pandemic — shelling out more than 100,000 meals last Friday, according to city data.
They often work in crowded kitchens in basements of old schools with little ventilation, and interact with families to whom they distribute the meals. “Last week, I reported to work 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. I wasn’t given no masks,” said Duwayne Collins, a worker in Brooklyn. “I survived. But I don’t know if I show up tomorrow if there are any safety measures for me.”
Food workers reported to their home schools last week. But starting Monday, they shifted to a smaller group of about 400 schools from which the Education Department will hand out meals for the remainder of the school closure. The consolidation may mean even more crowding for the food workers, worried staffers said.
“I just went to a kitchen with 15 people in a kitchen. There’s no social distancing there,” said Nesbitt, the former school cook who now serves as Vice President of DC37 Local 372, the union representing school food workers.
Ed Department spokesman Nathaniel Styer said “every food distribution center has been given directions on how to maintain social distancing protocols, each staff member is required to wear gloves, and distribution sites are set up in lobbies and entranceways in buildings that are deep-cleaned daily.”
In past emergencies, school food workers were allowed to come in on an optional basis, and offered extra pay for doing so, Nesbitt said. But that hasn’t happened so far for the coronavirus closure.
“Is anyone concerned about my health and safety?” asked Grace Gill, a worker in Brooklyn. “I’m over 60 and have high blood pressure, and have a husband with high blood pressure – who’s concerned about us?”
Education Department officials said that as of Monday, workers older than 70 do not have to work and will still be paid because of recent guidance from Gov. Cuomo. But union officials hadn’t heard about the rule by Monday. “The workers don’t know that,” said Nesbitt.