Coronavirus Update: Free Student Meals

Dear Neighbors,

Since the closing of the public school system, dozens of sites around the District have been selected to offer free grab-and-go meals for students. This system, a continuation of the meals offered under my Healthy Schools Act, has offered a lifeline for those children who depend on free school breakfast and the 'Free And Reduced Meals' program (or FARM). Frustratingly, none of the meal distribution sites have been located in Ward 3.

While many of the students who receive free and reduced meals at Ward 3 schools live outside of the Ward, there are undoubtedly students in our community who are at risk of hunger and need ready access to these meals. I have been pressing the Chancellor and City Administrator to have at least one school meal site in the ward, and now there may be a path to get one. I have been told that if there are sufficient concentrated numbers of families in need and an interest in having a site in the Ward, that it could be possible for a modest site to be set up in Ward 3.

The best way to present that interest will be for families who are eligible for FARM to email my Legislative Director Michael Porcello ([email protected]) or call my office at (202)724-8062 and let us know the following:

1. If you would be interested in a Ward 3 meal distribution site.
2. A general sense of where you live in Ward 3 (such as an address, neighborhood, or intersection). This will help us determine if there is a critical mass and what central location would be ideal for a potential site.

I will present these answers to the City Administrator for his evaluation and will keep the community updated on his response.

Regards,

Mary