Detroit schools restructure meal distribution plan amid staff concerns over COVID-19 exposure

A quick update to a previous story we published, the Detroit Public Schools Community District has restructured its meal distribution program during the coronavirus statewide school closures.

Chalkbeat Detroit first reported that the number of school sites that are providing families who may rely on breakfast and lunch provided on campus to feed their families is going down from 58 to 17. The changes in service come amid growing concern among district employees of being exposed to coronavirus.

In a statement published Monday, the district says the plan is being restructured to address the Governor’s latest “shelter in place” mandate, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday (March 24).

School district food distribution is taking a pause until Thursday (March 26), at which point 17 campuses will provide precooked breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays, three breakfasts and lunches will be handed out. Door to door food delivery will also be available Monday and Thursday for medically-fragile students.

Tostada Magazine reached out to district officials about the restructured plan and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti had this to say:

“We were providing over 20K meals a day. We selected the 17 schools to try as best we could to cover each general section of the city. Moving forward we believe this new model we actually provide more meals to more families and over a longer period of time, Monday-Sunday, instead of Monday-Friday. Most importantly, we can keep our employees safer with (fewer) sites and less social interaction.”

Elsewhere, the city of Detroit announced on Monday that three recreation centers and 24 charter schools in the city will begin distributing meals starting next week. Recreation center service hours are 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday – Thursday. On Fridays, they can request additional meals to get them through the weekend. As of Tuesday (March 24), charter school hours are 8 .m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday. Days and times may vary. For updated information, click here. 8AM – 1 PM, although dates and times may vary by location. Click here for more information.

Additionally, the YMCA has said that several of its locations are also stepping in to provide meals to families in need during the public health crisis.

See below for a complete list of participating public school campuses, recreation centers, charter schools, and YMCA branches.

Detroit Public Schools Community District locations:

Denby, 12800 Kelly Rd
East English Village Prep, 5020 Cadieux Road
Fisher Magnet Upper Academy, 15491 Maddelein St
Marion Law Academy, 19411 Cliff St
King High School, 3200 E. Lafayette Street
Pershing,  18875 Ryan Road
Southeastern, 3030 Fairview St
Brenda Scott Academy, 18440 Hoover St
Cass Tech, 2501 2nd Ave
Durfee/Central, 2425 Tuxedo Street
Charles Wright Academy, 19299 Berg Road
Cody High School, 18445 Cathedral Street
Frederick Douglas Academy, 2001 W. Warren
Mumford, 17525 Wyoming Street
Munger, 5525 Martin St
Renaissance, 6565 W Outer Driver
Western, 1500 Scotten St

City Recreation Centers:

Adams Butzel Recreation Center, 10500 Lyndon
Farwell Recreation Center, 2711 E. Outer Drive
Kemeny Recreation Center, 2260 S. Fort Street

YMCA Locations:

This story is developing and we are making every effort to provide Metro Detroiters with the most up to date information. If you know of other ways that residents can access emergency resources during the coronavirus pandemic crisis, please contact us at info@tostadamagazine.com.

This article was made possible by the Detroit Journalism Engagement Fund, a project of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, that’s working to increase quality journalism and help better inform communities.