Maya McFadden photos
Justine Stephan and Betty Alford at John C. Daniels Tuesday.
Justine Stephan and Betty Alford are stepping up as providers in a world turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, where schools are no longer places of learning but rather places to prepare and pick-up much needed food for hungry families.
Instead of spending Tuesday morning in her eighth-grade room at Nathan Hale School, Justine, 13, walked to John C. Daniels Interdistrict Magnet School — not to attend classes, but to pick up free bags of food for her parents and siblings at home.
Instead of serving hot breakfasts and chatting with students and staff, Alford, lead chef of the Truman School’s cafeteria, prepared bagged cold breakfasts and waited for any young people to come by whom she could help feed.
This topsy turvy world seems to be the new normal at public schools that have been indefinitely suspended and turned into breakfast and lunch pick-up spots due to the spread of COVID-19.
Tuesday was Day 2 of the school system’s conversion of public school buildings into meal pick-up sites.
Schools Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto said that the school system distributed a total of 2,150 meals between breakfast and lunch Tuesday. He said the updated number for Monday’s total meal distributions is 1,526.
Pinto said that the most meals distributed Tuesday were at Fair Haven School (110 breakfast/110 lunch), followed by Lincoln Bassett School (90/90), Columbus Family Academy (83/83), Roberto Clemente (72/72), and Ross Woodward and LW Beecher (56/56 each).
“I Know It Will Help My Family”
On her ten-minute walk back home from John C. Daniels School, Justine cut through Hill Central School’s parking lot with three breakfasts and three lunches for her two siblings and parents.
Justine is a student at Nathan Hale School but lives in the Hill area.
Today’s trip was Justine’s second of the week after her mom let her know about the free breakfast and lunch pick-up program at 37 select New Haven public schools (NHPS).
“I know it will help my family out a lot,” she said.
Since the closing of NHPS last Friday, Justine said her mother has been out of work as a substitute teacher.
“It’s a little different having everyone home together,” she said. Justine has been designated by her family to make the daily food runs.
She said she enjoys being able to get out of the house and at times runs the whole way for exercise.
Though she hasn’t started it just yet, Justine said she received online work from school to do while all in-person classes are closed.
“I Miss Making Them Hot Meals”
Just before noon, Alford stood outside Truman School in the Hill, inviting all the youth passing by to get the free meals.
Since the public school closure last week, Alford’s work has shifted from the usual; but “I’m still getting paid which is what’s important” she said. Alford is no longer providing for just one school’s worth of kids. She’s helping provide food for a whole neighborhood.
Tuesday, Alford said her goal was to serve at least 50 to 60 neighbors. Around 11:45 a.m., Truman workers had served about 35 people.
As a group of four young girls passed, Alford called out “Hey, the food is over here. Come on over and get some meals for you all!”
As the group of four approached the school entrance, Alford asked how many meals they wanted, to which they answered two.
When a cafeteria member came out, Alford told her to bring enough meals out for three.
“Tell your family and friends to come to Truman if they need food,” Alford said to the four young girls as they were handed the bagged meals and each of their faces lit up with excitement. Alford recollected on her personal experience of being without money to buy food.
She said programs like the newly introduced free breakfast and lunch pick-up are necessary for families who like her at one point in the past “had the rent paid but had no food,” she said.
Each morning Alford begins working at 7:45 a.m. to bag the breakfast and lunch meals together to handout to visitors as a package.
“I miss making them hot meals,” she said.
Alford said she is unsure of exactly when the program will end but intends to help city families out with free meals for as long as she can.