PSEA members keep students fed during closures

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. left to right: Debbie Uhl and Cindy Runyan of Nutrition Inc. stand with St. Marys ESP members Missy Aloi and Ronda Beimel while helping deliver lunches to school children at the Fox Township Elementary School.
            2. Chester Upland school staff make sure students have meals during the #COVID19 school closures.
            3. Tussey Mountain ESP President Andrea Watkins with the bagged lunches that will go to nearly one-third of the K-4 students in her district.
            4. The leadership team of Athens EA distributed 4,500 prepared lunches to students.
            5. Members of the Bradford Area EA collecting and providing school supplies for area students.

As the dust began to settle immediately following Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement to close schools statewide on March 13, ESPs in locals everywhere were already hard at work ensuring our neediest students wouldn’t go hungry. By the time Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera had issued a statement clarifying that districts could distribute meals at no cost while schools are closed, many of our members had already been at it for days.

In the Tussey Mountain School District, for instance, five support professionals from food service prepared and distributing bagged breakfasts and lunches, while two secretaries stayed on to assure the offices were running and they were available to answer questions. Three lead custodians also reported for duty to assure repairs were made, while six custodians along with five members from other classifications joined together to clean our buildings from top to bottom in preparation for the possible return of students.

“It was great seeing a whole community effort during very uncertain times,” said Tussey Mountain ESP President Andrea Watkins. “It is moments like this that show what unions and union members can accomplish.”

Similar stories have been popping up all over the state, from Milton to Central Dauphin (link has a list of midstate counties offering modified food service) to Mifflinburg to Wilkes-Barre to Lehigh Valley to Lancaster, and so many more across the commonwealth.

We’re so proud of our support professionals, teachers, administrators, and everyone else who has put their students’ needs first during this unprecedented crisis.