Dear Students and Families,
We hope this letter finds you all in good health and good spirits. We appreciate all of your efforts to stay connected to your teachers and school community during this challenging time. In an effort to support our students and families, we wanted to share valuable information regarding food distribution and support services in our community.
Your home districts have been providing breakfast and lunch to all of their students, or to those who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Below is a list of the food distribution processes for each of our component districts. If you need assistance beyond this, please consider contacting our local food pantries. A list of local food pantries is also included below for your convenience.
Auburn: Free grab and go breakfasts and lunches Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at Casey Park Elementary, Genesee Elementary and Auburn Junior High School. They are giving out multiple meals to provide for families until the next distribution.
Cato-Meridian: Starting on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, every family will be able to drive up by the elementary/middle school cafeteria doors (where school budget votes are held) between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to receive a complete lunch and next day breakfast for each student in your household. The meals will be cold grab and go items which includes fruit and vegetables as well as milk. There will also be a delivery option for those who receive free or reduced meals. If your child(ren) currently receives free or reduced breakfast and lunch, please call their breakfast/lunch hotline at 315-427-9230 for home delivery. Unfortunately, at this time the district is only able to deliver those meals to your home address and not to a daycare provider or an alternate address. Again, the delivery option is only for free and reduced meal students and can only be delivered to your home address. You must request delivery by calling the hotline listed above.
Jordan Elbridge: Food will be distributed via bus routes. When you see the bus, please come out and pick up your food. Meal deliveries will continue, Monday through Friday, for the duration of the school closure. Any questions, please call Food Service at 315-689-8500 extension 5701.
Moravia: If you are in need of assistance, please fill out this form and submit it to the district:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeoSgwNMivohxNTJP8ob2VZDQLeJ0a9bMYm3in621KCiwmqwg/viewform.
Port Byron: The district has pick up times for meals 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 3:00-4:00 p.m. For more information contact the food services manager, Gina Kilmer, at gkilmer@pbcschools.org or call the district office at (315) 776-5728.
Skaneateles: If you are in need of assistance, please fill out this form and submit it to the district: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfq3EyGj4EApZqSnSM-Hp38lgzTWjxwzxufsb-3cxRwLS-ew/viewform.
Southern Cayuga: The Southern Cayuga Central School District will be offering free grab and go breakfast and lunch to all students who need it beginning March 18th on a daily basis. These meals will be available between the hours of 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the high school loading dock for pick up. There will be signs to guide you where to go and there will be someone to greet you at your vehicle. Please do not exit your vehicle as the meals will be delivered to you. There will be free wifi access for students in the vicinity of the meal pickup point to allow students to download classroom information, if needed.
Union Springs: The district has begun to deliver to the homes of students who qualify for free-and reduced priced meals. Meals for the following week will be delivered. If you need food assistance during this time period, please reach out to food service at (315) 889-4120.
Weedsport: The district is offering grab-and-go meals, lunch, and breakfast, that have been prepared by their Food Services staff and are made available for pick-up at the cafeteria entrance of the Jr.-Sr. High School at noon each day, Monday through Friday. Weedsport has also been using three district vehicles to deliver meals on Mondays and Wednesdays typically between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to students throughout the district who are listed as eligible for free meals. For more information you can call the school at 315-834-6652.
Food Pantries:
- Jordan-Elbridge Ecumenical Food Pantry, Jordan, 315-689-6240 x115
- Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry, Weedsport, 315-834-6581
- Calvary Food Pantry, Auburn, 315-252-7772
- Alphonsus Food Pantry, Auburn, 315-252-0710
- Food Bank of Central New York, Syracuse, 315-437-1899
- Skaneateles Ecumenical Food Pantry, (315) 685-0427
- Cato Christian Fellowship, (315) 626-2287
- Moravia Hop Food Pantry, (315) 283-5663
- Cayuga/Seneca Action Agency Food Pantry, (315) 252-0038
- Union Springs Trinity United Church, (315) 889-7302
- King Ferry Food Pantry, 315-497-2049 (Debbie)
- Port Byron Community Food Pantry, (315) 776-5156
We understand that these are challenging times, and our community has many resources that are just a phone call away. Listed below are a variety of mental health resources in our community.
Mental Health
- Cayuga-Seneca Community Action Agency, Auburn, 315-255-1703
- Cayuga Counseling Services, Auburn, 315-253-9795
- ARISE Child and Family Services, Inc., Syracuse, (315) 472-3171
- Liberty Resources, Inc., Syracuse, 315-884-0039
- Joseph's Hospital Health Center, Syracuse, 315-703-2700
- ARISE telehealth support via phone, (315) 671-2955
- Please also note that if a situation arises you can call 911 and ask for the Mobile Crisis Unit in both Cayuga and Onondaga County. A therapist and a police officer will arrive to try to de-escalate the situation in an attempt to avoid negative outcomes both mental health wise and criminally.
Please remember that the staff at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES is always available to help support our students and families. Please feel free to reach out at any time so we can continue to work together during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
The Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Administrative Team