On March 18, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that school buildings across New York would close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many nutrition directors and nonprofit leaders only had a few days to figure out how to provide food in a new socially distanced world. Despite these challenges, school districts and community organizations made incredible adjustments to their programs and were able to serve meals to their communities during the crisis. We’re pleased to share the stories of actions taken by some of our grantees during the earliest days of the pandemic.
Sherman Central School District is a small district in Chautauqua County, in the western part of New York. The district is rural, with many families earning income through farming and agriculture. When news of the school closures hit, Susan Bates, Sherman’s Cafeteria Manager, knew she would have to find a safe way to provide meals to her students, no matter what.
Soon after the school closure order, she gathered the district’s school bus drivers and loaded their buses with packaged meals. The bus drivers followed new routes to drop meals off at the homes of children enrolled in the free school meals program. Maintaining the school meals program was critical for Sherman’s families. As Susan says, “We are a rural community with limited access to stores. We were already considered severe need and now families have lost sources of income.” She recalls that even families who could afford to buy food were having trouble finding items in the store, as the one grocery store in the area often had bare shelves.
By June, Susan and her team were serving over 2,700 meals per week over a service area of more than 100 square miles. Susan and Michael Ginestre, the district Superintendent, have heard countless words of appreciation from parents throughout the district, along with signs and pictures in house windows from children saying thank-you to the bus drivers who deliver their meals. Says Superintendent Ginestre, “Every day I get someone saying thank-you. [The parents] have been super appreciative because it’s been something they don’t have to worry about with all the other worries and things going on.”
Staff members at Sherman Central School District
These stories are mirrored in communities across New York and throughout the nation. No Kid Hungry New York is grateful to all the hunger heroes who have adjusted their plans at the turn of a dime to feed kids in their communities. Their dedication and tireless work have ensured that kids have the nutritious meals they need to grow up healthy and strong.