The YMCA of Centre County works year round to make sure no child goes hungry with its backpack weekend food program and summer lunch program. Now it’s stepping up to continue that work during an unprecedented crisis.
While schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic, the YMCA will be offering free lunches at locations around the county to ensure students don’t miss out on a meal they’d otherwise get during the school day.
Starting Wednesday, bags with free lunches and evening snacks will be distributed from noon to 1 p.m. at the Bellefonte, State College and Moshannon Valley YMCA. Additional sites will be added upon approval.
Lunches will be prepared and brought to the sites, which will be stop and go or drive-through to minimize contact. Lunches will be provided based on the number of the children in the vehicle.
YMCA of Centre County works with seven school districts: Bald Eagle, Bellefonte, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and State College in Centre County, as well as Moshannon Valley and West Branch in Clearfield County
‘One of the things we do is feed these children. We are now geared up that we will be out every day of the week feeding kids while they are out of school,’ Mel Curtis, anti-hunger program director and Moshannon Valley Y branch director, told the Centre County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
Some sites won’t be reimbursable by the USDA because of area income restriction rules for providing free lunches. Those will operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but Curtis said they will provide something equivalent to the backpack program so that children receive an equivalent amount of food. The backpack food program also will continue.
The biggest needs right now are transportation, volunteers and financial support, Curtis said. He added that the Centre County community has come together quickly to support the effort.
‘We have a task force put together which has grown phenomenally. We have volunteers coming from all over the county to serve kids every day,’ Curtis said. ‘As a whole, the citizens of Centre County have been phenomenal. I can’t express how everyone has really opened up to help out in any way shape or form.’
Curtis said as he walked into the Willowbank Building on Tuesday morning for the commissioners meeting, he was greeted by a county employee who handed him a donation check.
‘That’s a great way to be greeted,’ he said.
The program is getting items through a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture commodities program, and Eagle Towing has donated its services to send a tractor trailer to Harrisburg on Friday to pick up food. Schools also have provided excess milk, meat and cheese.
‘At a point that stuff is not going to be able to be used,’ Curtis said. ‘There’s a lot of time we’re going to need items and we’re going to need to pick them up immediately, so gift cards, cash, check (would help).’
Donations can be made online at ymcaofcentrecounty.org/support/donate, by maiil to YMCA of Centre County Development Office, 677 W Whitehall Road, State College, PA 16801, or in-person at branch locations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Doors will be locked but someone will be at the front desk to let donors in.
The Travelin’ Table bus, which brings food and resources to outlying communities, will be in front of the Centre County Court House on Friday, March 20 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Those who would like to donate food should check the list of needed items here.
The Travelin’ Table was already packed and ready to head out on Tuesday afternoon, Curtis said. Four other vehicles were to be packed to head out to sites on Wednesday.
Curtis also noted that the YMCA of Centre County is seeking approval to reopen child care programs on a limited basis. Child care facilities were among the many places told to close for at least two weeks by Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday, but they are able to seek waivers to provide service for community employees deemed essential, such as health care workers and first responders.
The Y hoped to be granted approval within 24 hours, but Curtis was unsure on Tuesday how long it would take.
Prior to the announcement statewide closure of schools, State College Area School District announced last week it would be canceling classes for this week. Through the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option, the district is providing free breakfast and lunch at three drive-through pick-up sites this week:
– State College High School Bus Loop, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
– Weis Market Parking Lot, North Atherton Street, 11 a.m.-noon.
– Ashworth Woods Apartments, Boalsburg, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Families who live close by may walk to pick up meals, but they are asked not to congregate at the distribution sites.
Penns Valley Area School District is providing breakfast and lunch to all students during the closure as well. Families are asked to register online by going to pennsvalley.org and clicking on ‘Meal Program Registration.’
Current meal distributions will occur between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. at Centre Hall – Potter Elementary, Penns Valley Area High School, and Miles Township Elementary. Locations and times may change as more children are added. Families may also call 814-422-2000, extension 3097, to register.
