Ad blitz for 'secret' city program
Packaged meals are ready for distribution to youngsters at El Centro de Hospitalidad in Port Richmond.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Free Summer Meals program that the Department of Education runs to provide breakfast and lunch to low-income children at city parks, pools and schools during the summer has left a lot of Staten Islanders hungry for information as well as good food.
Only a fraction of eligible kids and families know the program exists.
"Many people are surprised when they hear that, at a time when so many families are struggling," said Josh Wachs of Share Our Strength, a national anti-hunger nonprofit that is partnering with the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and other groups to get the word out.
In addition to posting banners at distribution sites and promoting the program with a radio ad featuring New York Knick Chauncey Billups, the alliance will undertake a massive street outreach program this weekend.
"Volunteers from all over the city will be going door to door," said Wachs. "They'll be visiting businesses and letting folks know how easy the program is to access. The Department of Education feels it can significantly increase the number of meals served."
But some residents believe more effort should be invested in distributing food more equitably and better serving areas in need.
Fran -- she gave only her first name -- a New Springville mother of four who took her children to walk-in sites at Laurie Intermediate School, PS 58 behind the Staten Island Mall and New Dorp High School during prior summers, was disappointed to find all had been closed when she logged onto the Summer Meals website recently. (PS 58 has since been reinstated.)
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott reduced the number of distribution sites, cutting nearly $11 million from the school's food budget in 2011. The schools in Fran's district have continued to serve breakfast and lunch to the summer school students and summer campers, but closed their doors to walk-ins.
"The staff is there. The food is there. The facilities are open. Why are they not allowing walk-ins? It doesn't make sense, " said Fran, noting that on Staten Island, breakfast is widely available only in Community Board 1, and residents of Community Board 3 are out of luck.
"There's one [distribution site] in the Tottenville area, one in the West Shore, one by the Mall and one in the New Dorp area, so it's a large catchment area," said City Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore). "We haven't received calls requesting services or that needs aren't being met. My understanding is that these are placed by need, and if the need isn't there, they shouldn't be stagnant."
Margie Feinberg, speaking for the Department of Education, said an effort is being made to serve meals at locations on the North and South Shores where children congregate. "Our goal is to serve as many children as possible, and keeping underutilized locations open doesn't make sense if we can direct those resources to locations where we can serve more children. So far this summer, preliminary data indicate we are serving more meals ... than last summer."
The free-meal program is open to children 18 and younger and runs through Sept. 2. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Families can call 311 to find a site in their neighborhood. Kids younger than 18 can drop in for a free meal. A complete listing of sites across the city is available at: http://www.opt-osfns.org/osfns/resources/sch_search/summermeals.aspx.