Westfield Public Schools Food Services Director Rachel Kania stands by some of the 700 meals the department distributes daily. (HOPE E. TREMBLAY/THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
WESTFIELD – Westfield Public Schools’ free breakfast and lunch to go for children has been serving more than 700 meals a day this week, up 300 a day from last week.
Food Services Director Rachel Kania said 700 meals is only a fraction of what the schools normally serve, which is between 2,000 to 3,000 meals daily.
“I’m just happy that we’re doing it, and it’s helping people that really need it stretch out their food,” Kania said.
She said they have had “a ton” of volunteers offer to help, although they can’t use volunteers in the kitchen. A lot of the staff have also offered to come in, and check in every day to make sure they’re all set.
Kania said she herself, a courier and four staff members are doing the meal preparation. The courier has been helping her unload the school kitchens, one each day. She said all of the schools had gotten big orders in on the Thursday before they made the call to shut the schools down, and they wanted to use the local milk and local produce up before they started to purchase new product. They have one more school to unload and will probably have to put in another order next week.
“We’ve actually been able to use everything; nothing has gone to waste. Even the lettuce, we’ve chopped up for salad. We’re trying to use everything that’s perishable,” Kania said.
Kania said volunteers from the Westfield Medical Reserve Corp who are trained and have protective gear are handing out the meals at Powdermill Village and Colonial Pine Acres, locations which were added on the other side of town from Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue schools.
“I’m super glad that we continue to serve them; there’s a great need for it. A lot of people don’t have transportation,” she said.
“We have everything we need, plenty of volunteers, plenty of product to get us through. Our vendors have been great, ready to supply us at any moment. It’s been very smooth. The staff that I have for the food service department is amazing, and lend themselves to whatever we need, We are 100% focused on feeding healthy meals every day, which takes a huge stress off the parents,” Kania said.
A Westfield Public Schools food services employee delivers meals to a family at Abner Gibbs Elementary School March 25, 2020. (HOPE E. TREMBLAY/THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
This is Kania’s second year at Westfield Public Schools. A trained chef from Johnson & Wales, she spent most of her career in the restaurant business, and the last five years in elder health services before coming to Westfield.
“it’s been wonderful. The city has been wonderful to work with – all the people in the school system have been lovely. They carry about their mission, and care about the kids,” she said.
She said the meals they are giving out make a difference to people. One mother of three told her she didn’t know what she would do without the extra help.
Kania said she hopes by next week, the numbers of people they are serving are in the 800 to 900’s. “We are hoping to serve as many as we can,” she said. Meals are being given out Monday through Friday at Abner Gibbs Elementary School, 50 W. Silver St., and Franklin Avenue Elementary, 22 Franklin Ave., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at Powdermill Village Apartments, 126 Union St. and Colonial Pine Acres, 50 Southampton Rosd, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Every child is provided a free lunch and a free breakfast for the following day, on a first come, first served basis. No ID is required. Parents are responsible for their child’s allergy needs. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Food Service Department at (413) 572-6493. (Note: Effective April 6, the Abner Gibbs meal site has been moved to Westfield Middle School from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Kania also wanted to publicize the Boys & Girls Club’s free curbside grab & go dinner meals for youth ages 2-18 at multiple locations across the city. The meals are available Monday through Friday at the following locations and times:
–Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield at 28 West Silver St. from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
–Franklin Avenue Elementary School from 5 to 6 p.m.
–Colonial Pine Acres at 50 Southampton Road from 5 to 6 p.m.
A March 23 update on the Boys & Girls Club website at www.bgcwestfield.org said that in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, a table will be set at each site where meals will be placed. One person from a household is asked to collect the meal(s) to minimize the chance of crowding, and safe social distancing is requested while while the staff replenishes the tables.
