Penn Hills School District officials have a plan to ensure students stay fed this school year no matter if they come to class or learn online.
The first day of school for the estimated 3,100 students is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Students coming to class will be split into two groups with one group in the buildings Mondays and Tuesdays. The second group will be in school Thursdays and Fridays.
Students will be online learning during their days away from school. The district also has a full-time distance learning option for families not quite comfortable sending their children back to school.
District Food Service director Tammi Davis said grab-and-go breakfasts will be available for students when they arrive. Students are to take them back to their classrooms to eat.
There will be no cafeteria usage in any school for breakfast or lunch.
Superintendent Nancy Hines said children in K-8 will have lunch delivered to their classrooms while the high school students will have meal distribution centers on each floor.
Students in school on Tuesdays and Fridays will be given extra meals to take home. Meals for online learners will be available for pickup on those two days about 30 minutes after dismissal.
Davis said those to-go meals will be cooked, cooled and packaged, similar to the food offered during Penn Hills’ summer lunch program.
“It’s a plan in progress,” Davis said. “In case we need to do something else, we’ll make changes to make it easier for the parents that want to participate.”
Parents do not have to sign up to get meals.
Hines commended the food service department for its efforts to ensure no student goes hungry during the covid-19 pandemic.
“I’m really proud of our team because we haven’t skipped a beat,” Hines said. “If there’s a need within a family, we want to meet that.”
Hines also said the summer/spring food distribution was successful due to partnerships with nonprofits Second Chance, Allies for Children, United Way and Carnegie Mellon University.
