Summit Prep Providing Meals to Students Throughout Community

San Mateo CA

17 December, 2020

11:43 PM

Description

In the peak of the pandemic and amidst heightened food insecurity, families across the country are preparing for their students to begin winter break. Redwood City's Summit Preparatory High School (Summit Prep) will provide continued support to students by distributing a week's worth of meals on the last day of the semester, December 18. Summit Prep has provided free meals to any student who needs them since March, over 33,000 meals in total. Responsive to the needs of families, meal kits have evolved from supplying five days to seven days worth of food every week. Kits include breakfast and lunch entrees, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk. Each Monday, all students 18 and under — including those not enrolled at Summit Prep — are able to pick up the meal kits prepared by The LunchMaster. "If a student's most basic needs are not met, it's more difficult for students to engage and concentrate in Virtual School," says Director of Regional Operations, Alara Guzman-MacGillivray. "Summit Public Schools have supported students with meal kits, one-to-one technology, and regular check-ins to ensure they can continue to attend, engage, learn, and grow. We're so proud of our community for working hard to support each other during the pandemic." Students and families picking up meals are greeted by the familiar faces of the food service staff they know from the previous school year, as Summit schools have continued to employ all staff throughout the pandemic. The impact on the Summit community is tangible. "Not having to go buy food, particularly fresh fruit, at the store during this pandemic while one of our parents is not working has greatly helped our family," reflected an 11th grader at Summit. Summit's network of schools in California and Washington has distributed over 137,000 meals since March. Summit Prep's free winter break meal distribution will take place at 890 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063 from 9 AM to 1 PM and will operate in accordance with COVID-19 safety precautions. If you or your family need additional meal support during school closures, visit the USDA Find Meals for Kids tool. To learn more about Summit Prep, visit their website.