How School Districts in Duchess County are Providing Meals to Students During the Pandemic
By: Kristen Conti
It hasn’t been an easy ride for Duchess Country school districts during the COVID-19 pestilence, in regard to school lunch programs. With families experiencing atypical amounts of job loss, financial uncertainty and insecurity, and health dilemmas, schools feel responsible to assist families in any means they can configure. “Any family in need should get help,” said Mark Hicks, Director of Food Services for the Arlington School District.
As a start, many Duchess Country school districts began their fall semesters emulating programs they utilized in the previous spring semester when COVID-19 first hit. The USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, announced they would allow for schools who had been giving free meals to students over the summer to continue that trend by applying a waiver to allow operation under summer feeding rules. Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated this request and so beginning March 16, the Arlington School District implemented a “summer free lunch program” until June 30.
However, “The biggest problem is there is no funding for it,” said Hicks. “There is no such thing as free money.” Operating without any aid from New York State or the USDA, caused the operation budget to struggle intensely, forcing the district to tap into general operating funds.
According to the Arlington School District’s website, “The final loss of revenue and the depletion of reserve funds was catastrophic.” Therefore, in September, the district decided to return to the conventional school lunch program where students would pay for meals normally and those qualified for assistance would receive it. If a student qualifies as a, “free reduced student,” their lunches will be deemed free, and this can happen with the simple signing of a form provided by the district.
Hicks urges families to go online and fill out the application for the retrieval of free meals if their financial income will qualify them to do so. “Any child in Arlington who needs a free meal is getting it and so if they need help, we would like to know about it,” said Hicks.
Similar to Arlington, the Hyde Park School District is committed to taking care of students in need of meals. Being a much smaller district than Arlington, Hyde Park is much more equip to provide free meals to students, in regard to funding. The district is providing meals for school days and all non-school days, including holidays and weekends, as long as the school is in hybrid mode. The school distributes these meals every Wednesday at the District Office, during the school’s virtual learning day. The food services department is making meals and freezing them so that all students are covered at all times.
Hyde Park is hoping to continue this trend for months to come and so far The House of Representatives and the Senate signed off on the request and they are waiting on the USDA’s approval, which right now has only allowed approval through the beginning of October. However, at the moment, the district is secure until the winter, as the summer food service program has extended free meal assurance through December 31.
So far, Hyde Park “has seen an increase of 400 students” since the program started in the summer, said Shauna DeCiutiis, Hyde Park School District’s Food Service Director. “Right now, no one is paying,” and the hope is to keep that going throughout the entire school year.
Equivalently, being a larger district than Hyde Park but a smaller district like Arlington, the Poughkeepsie School District has been able to fund free meals to students since the start of the pandemic. According to the district website, “To address the nutritional needs of Poughkeepsie City School District students the district’s Food Service department provides free breakfast and lunch to students at several sites throughout Poughkeepsie.” Meals are offered Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 10 AM and then from 11 AM to 12 PM in various locations around the city, such as Hudson Gardens, the Bixby Apartments, Christ Episcopal Church, and the Poughkeepsie High School parking lot.
“We’ve been doing this since we got shut down in March,” said Caterina Pace, a member of the district’s food service department. “We don’t have as much participation as we do when the kids are in school, but we are doing well.”
Ultimately, Duchess County has excelled in their adaption to the abrupt and complicated circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, school shutdowns, and hybrid reopening. With the carefully coordinated offerings of free meals starting last spring, families have been rightfully assisted and accounted for. Befittingly, education and learning, both online and in-person, is running simultaneous with student health and safety.
Though the districts run their programs as directed by New York State, when it comes down to it, Duchess County School Districts like Arlington, Hyde Park, and Poughkeepsie, have staff that aim to do everything in their power to provide for those in need, despite mandates and regulations. Assuring families, “our determination is based on need,” said Hicks. “If they present a need, it’s taken care of.”
