Salem Coronavirus: Schools Provide Meals During Shutdown

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools said Monday it will expand its school meal program to offer breakfast and lunch any child under 18, regardless of their lunch benefit status, during the three-week, state-ordered closure of all Massachusetts schools.

Meal pickups will be available between 9 and 11 a.m. on weekdays at the following locations:

• Bates School - side door to the cafeteria, facing the playground
• Bentley Academy - gym door near the big parking lot
• Carlton Innovation School - main entrance
• Collins Middle School - main entrance
• Horace Mann Elementary School - second-floor entrance on the SHS side of the building, near the field
• Saltonstall - behind the school at the cafeteria entrance by the playground
• Witchcraft Elementary School - main entrance

Families can send one child to pickup meals for all children in their household. Meals will also be delivered by school transportation staff for pickup at the following locations between 9 and 10 a.m. for any Salem resident under the age of 18:

• 1000 Loring TowersMack Park at Tremont St.
• Salem Common
• Pequot Highlands at First St.Palmer Cove Park
• Rainbow Terrace at 2 Rainbow Terrace

"These meals will be 'grab-and-go' style; packaged in convenient carrying bags by our hard-working and talented Food Services Department. We will be practicing social distancing protocol at all of these locations, so please be patient as you wait for your meals," the school system said. "Whenever possible, please send one family member (or as few as possible) to get meals for all children in the household."

On Sunday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered all schools closed for at least three weeks. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working with school districts to develop distance learning programs and to make sure vital services offered by schools would still be available during the three-week closure.

Details of those plans are expected in the coming days, but already the state had received a waiver to federal rules that will allow low-income school districts to continue offering food service.