Belpre City Schools ends meals program until fall
Linda Gibbs, a paraprofessional with Belpre City Schools, fills lunch bags Wednesday morning at Belpre Elementary School to be distributed to students at schools and mobile sites. Wednesday was the last day of the district’s meal program, which will resume in the fall. (Photo by Michael Erb)
Lunch bags sit ready for distribution Wednesday at Belpre Elementary School. Wednesday marked the last day of meal services until this fall. (Photo by Michael Erb)
Eddie Lightner, a paraprofessional with Belpre City Schools, fills lunch bags Wednesday morning at Belpre Elementary School. The meal program ended Wednesday and will resume in the fall, but officials say other community groups this summer will continue to feed kids. (Photo by Michael Erb)
Linda Gibbs, a paraprofessional with Belpre City Schools, fills lunch bags Wednesday morning at Belpre Elementary School to be distributed to students at schools and mobile sites. Wednesday was the last day of the district’s meal program, which will resume in the fall. (Photo by Michael Erb)
Lunch bags sit ready for distribution Wednesday at Belpre Elementary School. Wednesday marked the last day of meal services until this fall. (Photo by Michael Erb)
Eddie Lightner, a paraprofessional with Belpre City Schools, fills lunch bags Wednesday morning at Belpre Elementary School. The meal program ended Wednesday and will resume in the fall, but officials say other community groups this summer will continue to feed kids. (Photo by Michael Erb)
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BELPRE -- Belpre City Schools student meal program ended Wednesday and will not resume until this fall, but officials say they are working with community groups to make sure kids are fed during the summer months.
Businesses and schools throughout the world were forced to close this year due to the spread of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, a virus which can cause severe respiratory illness.
Belpre City Schools closed in mid-March following an order by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to extend spring breaks for all public schools by three weeks to help slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The order was later extended and schools moved to online instruction. Eventually all Ohio schools, as well as schools in West Virginia and nationwide, were closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.
Belpre City Schools began daily distribution of meals March 23, distributing about 300 meals a day at schools and at mobile sites. Superintendent Jeff Greenley said Wednesday marked the last day of the school year feeding program. The district will not hold summer classes, he said, and officials already are making plans for this fall in case schools are unable to physically reopen or have to create a hybrid plan for in-person and remote learning.
During Monday's Belpre Board of Education meeting, Greenley said though the meal program was ending for the year, student need would continue through the summer months.
"I will note that there are other agencies in the county that will run summer feeding service programs," he said. "As part of the CARES Act, the state of Ohio did receive some additional discretionary funds that the governor specifically earmarked to benefit students who already qualify for SNAP benefits. That's an additional support for them, even though we will not be able to continue to provide funding for summer meal service."
Though no specific agencies were named this week, the school system plans to post links to other agency meal services on its web page and through it's app, he said. Go to https://www.belpre.k12.oh.us for more information and updates.
Contact Michael Erb at merb@newsandsentinel.com.