New Kensington-Arnold eliminates 3 food distribution sites

New Kensington-Arnold School District is eliminating three locations where grab-and-go meals for students can be picked up.

The sites — Valley Junior-Senior High School, St. Joseph’s School and New Kensington city hall — are being closed effective Tuesday because of a lack of participation, the district said in a statement Monday morning.

Meals will continued to be distributed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays at five other locations in the district: Martin, H.D. Berkey and Hunt elementary schools; the Arnold police station; and the former Fort Crawford elementary school, now owned by the Salvation Army.

“It is unlikely that the district will add any additional distribution sites unless demand for meals can justify additional sites,” Superintendent John Pallone said.

The free meals include breakfast and lunch. The district is providing, on average, more than 550 meals per day, Pallone said.

“Participation started out slow on the first couple of days but got increasingly better as time went on and the news of the meal availability got into the community, ” he said. “Last Friday was our best day. The program served 500 students six meals… for a total of 3,000 meals.”

The cafeteria area and food preparation area will continue to be cleaned and disinfected daily while grab-and-go meals are being provided, the district said.

The district said it has not received any new information from the Department of Education or Gov. Tom Wolf’s office about whether school buildings will remain closed beyond the originally announced two-week closure ending Friday.

Educational resources for students are available on the district’s website, under “resources” and “Covid 19 District Response.”

The district has said two people who went on a bus trip to New York City in early March with the high school marching band have tested positive for coronavirus.

The district started issuing coronavirus-related notices on its website on Saturday. Updates are expected to be provided twice daily, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.