When Albert Einstein High School families held a virtual meeting last week to ask questions about plans for remote learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chrstine Alden pitched an idea.
What if, during the five-day spring break that began Thursday, the community could provide families in need with food?
Days off from school mean days the district does not serve meals, which many families come to depend on.
Alden, the mother of a sophomore at Einstein, proposed a fundraising effort in which members would purchase gift cards to local grocery stores. The school, which is near Kensington, could then distribute the cards to families.
The idea resonated.
Within four days, 115 gift cards, worth nearly $6,000, had been donated.
“One of the things we say about Albert Einstein is it’s the place to be,” Principal Christine Handy said in an interview on Thursday afternoon. “A family takes care of each other, so it’s amazing to see the generosity and caring spirit in our community.”
The effort is significant in part because nearly two-thirds of students at the school are, or have been at some time, eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals, a data point the school district uses as an indicator of poverty.
While schools are closed, MCPS has committed to distributing free breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks to students on weekdays. Over the past three weeks, the school district has handed out more than 700,000 meals.
But while classes are halted for spring break, the free meals won’t be provided.
Many of the gift cards will be distributed to families facing food insecurity to help them purchase food during the break. The rest — and any others received later — will be distributed to families in need for the duration of the pandemic.
Organizers said several people have already committed to providing more cards.
People could donate three ways: by purchasing a physical card from a grocery store and dropping it off at a fundraiser organizer’s home; purchasing a virtual gift card; or donating money to purchase cards.
Once the cards were collected, school officials created a distribution system. The guidance counselors and other support staff identified families they knew might be struggling financially and talked to them privately to offer a gift card. Stores include Giant, Safeway, Aldi, Target, Walmart and Snider’s Super Foods.
For now, only codes for the virtual cards are being distributed because “handing them out physically just doesn’t make sense right now,” Alden said. Others will be distributed later, or traded for virtual cards in the coming weeks, depending on the school community’s need.
“Some of us have cushy jobs with the government or can otherwise work remotely, while others are in the service industry or are out of work, so you see a lot of diversity in what people need and are able to do,” Alden said. “For me, we’re saving money working from home that we’d be spending on parking and gas, and I’d rather turn that over to a family that needs it than literally make money off of this.”
Women Who Care Ministries will provide free meals to students across the county on Friday at their site at 19642 Club House Road, Suite 620, in Montgomery Village.
Manna Food Center will provide “weekend food sacks” to families on Saturday, according to MCPS. The time and location for the food distribution will be announced on Friday.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
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