Jamestown Public Schools knows there are a lot of heroic people during the coronavirus crisis — health care workers, first responders, truck drivers, childcare workers and grocery store clerks to name just a few. But, we have our own heroes here at JPS. One such group is our food service workers, who are tirelessly helping students and families by providing lunches and breakfasts daily. The Food Service Department has distributed over 30,000 meals since schools have been closed.

“I want to send a big shout out to all of the JPS food service staff for working together to feed our students during this crisis,” said Jeff Smith, JPS Director of Food Services. “I’m so proud of our staff who are on the front lines of this crisis. Each day we are told that this global pandemic is spreading, yet our food service staff continues to come to work to feed the children who attend JPS. We refuse to cower in the face of this adversity. Our meal counts are increasing daily, we are now serving 1,500 students breakfast and lunch each day as more and more people venture out to our four locations for meals. Please join me in thanking these lunch heroes for their service to the children and families of our community.”

JPS Food Service provides lunch and breakfast Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jefferson, Persell and Washington Middle Schools and Jamestown High School. Weekly menus are posted at jpsny.org/meals. JPS Food Service also provides meals for Saturday and Sunday to be picked up on Friday. Families should bring extra bags to carry the additional meals home. There is no in-person meal pick up on the weekends. Many have asked whether school meals will continue to be available April 10-19, when schools were originally scheduled for spring break. We are glad to be able to provide grab-and-go meals during this time. Meals can be picked up at all three middle schools and JHS between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. as follows:

¯ Thursday, April 9 — Meals for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

¯ Monday, April 13 — Thursday, April 16 – Daily meal pick up

¯ Friday, April 17 — Meals for Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Meal delivery may also be provided only for those who are quarantined or sick or are unable to physically get to the pick up locations due to medical reasons. If you need meal delivery for these reasons, please contact your school principal for more details.

The food service workers prepare the meals at each school and provide them for pick up no matter the weather — rain, snow, cold or heat. As with everything during this crisis, there has been a learning curve in providing meals in a different way. But, the Food Service Department has come through with flying colors. The district has received many messages from the community thanking us for the amazing meals that we provide for our kids. But at JPS we know who the real heroes in providing meals are our dedicated food service workers.