St. Paul schools offer food boxes for remote learners missing meals

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    SPPS working to feed students learning from home 

Many metro school districts are offering remote learning options, but this means some students miss out on school meals.

In St. Paul Public Schools, about 70% of students rely on school meals.

With around 7,000 students learning from home, the district faces the challenge of continuing to provide food. Stacy Koppen, the district’s director for nutrition services, said, “It’s one of our most basic human needs, and it’s critically important we have resources in place in a time of crisis.”

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St. Paul Public Schools is partnering with Second Harvest Heartland to provide food boxes to hundreds of families. These boxes, donated at no cost, offer multiple meals a week.

“We have two different boxes… one has things like corn tortillas, beans, rice, and taco seasoning. Another box includes things like tuna, green beans, vegetables, and cereal,” said Ethan Neal with Second Harvest Heartland.

More than 500 families have signed up for the food boxes. Koppen said the challenge is delivering food safely and confidentially, as some families are hesitant to ask for help.

“Some of our families are too intimidated to ask for this… particularly until we prove we will maintain privacy,” she said.

St. Paul Public Schools will provide a new box each week and will re-evaluate the program in March to determine its necessity.
The post St. Paul schools offer food boxes for remote learners missing meals first appeared on KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News.