While the District is supplying meals to students free of charge, students must still collect them. For some families, venturing outside to do so is an impossibility. For others, doing so puts another family member at risk.
To help these families out, the Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID) has been picking up 200 meals daily from the District’s Jefferson Middle School meal site and delivering them directly to the Resident Councils at James Creek, Greenleaf, and Syphax public housing complexes in Southwest.
The SWBID is partnering with DC Public Schools, Councilmember Allen’s Office, and the Resident Councils on this pilot meal delivery program, with the aim of continuing deliveries until kids are back in school. The meal packages will be available to all school-aged children and will include one fresh lunch and a shelf-stable breakfast to take home for the following morning.
“This is an unprecedented time for us all,” said Andre Witt, COO of the SWBID. “Many people need help with essential services. We heard that some families were having difficulty getting to their nearest meal site, so we started working with Councilmember Allen’s team to see what we could do.”
The SWBID ambassador team completed a series of training programs around cleaning and disinfecting public space consistent with the CDC Guidelines at the onset of COVID-19 in the District. The organization has updated their sick leave policy to guarantee paid sick leave for all team members regardless of accruals and the team has been broken up into three separate work teams that do not overlap to minimize exposure to the virus for the whole team.
