Maya McFadden Photo
As New Haven Public School (NHPS) students near their third week of remote learning, families are beginning to get in the groove of juggling their home schedules and picking up needed food.
Families stopped by Nathan Hale School and Truman School on Tuesday to pick up packages of breakfast and hot lunch. Forty one schools are serving as pick-up sites for enrolled NHPS students to get meals Monday through Friday from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. while public schools remain closed for at least the first 10 weeks of the academic year due to Covid-19.
Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto said as of Friday NHPS has been distributing about 2,000 breakfast and 2,000 lunches meals per day. The hot meals are being cooked and packaged by NHPS cafeteria staff. The program is requiring a full cafeteria staff of about 120 workers, Pinto said
A cafeteria worker from Truman School said she hopes distribution will pick up soon, as it’s been slow since the programs resumed on Sept. 3 after a summer break.
Ariel, 25 picked up a meal for her 6‑year old-daughter Tuesday at Nathan Hale. Ariel follows the monthly menu online. Since the start of the school year Ariel’s daughter has mostly favored the breakfasts over the lunches, she said.
Ariel said she has to sit through all her daughter’s lessons to keep her from getting distracted.
Participating schools are labled with signage indicating which entrance to pick up the student meals. Families must sign in upon arrival with each student’s name and student ID.
The program is working to accommodate religious, health, and vegitarian diets when possible, said Pinto. Families looking to get specific accommodations and diet request can contact the district’s central kitchen at (475) 220‑1610.
Shandar Butler recently moved to the Morris Cove neighborhood with his 7‑year-old daughter. Butler knew he wasn’t going to send his daughter back to school if given the choice because of the pandemic..
Butler, an employment specialist, has always done most of his work from home. He is now adjusting his and his daughter’s daily schedule to include picking up breakfast and lunch from Nathan Hale, get her comfortable with virtual learning, and working.
Morris Cove resident Dian picked up a breakfast and hot lunch for her niece. Dian heard of the food program after visiting the NHPS website in hope of finding something similar to the NHPS summer meal distribution.
Dian’s niece switched to a new school this year. Dian lives with her niece and has been devoting extra time to help her to adjust to the new school remotely as well as picking up breakfast and lunch.