Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced announced that it authorized the Education deparment so that, in coordination with the mayors who request it, they work to prepare food at school sites or Head Start and are distributed by municipal staff to children who have previously identified as needing it.
“The current alternatives that are covering the distribution of food through 90 non-profit organizations were established from the beginning to avoid crowds and lines of people in school canteens, in addition to the concern of the staff who work there. Currently, the Department of Family and Education are providing food to these organizations and mayors, “explained the first executive.
“However, as we are a government that listens to all sectors, we set out to address the demand for children to receive food without putting their health or the health of school lunchroom staff at risk as a result of the emergence of the coronavirus COVID-19 ”, he added.
The governor authorized that the Education deparment Activate staff from the School Food Authority or Head Start in different schools around the island so that their regional directors coordinate with the mayors who request to provide them with prepared food, and that the mayors deliver it to the children’s houses.
“This afternoon I had a telephone meeting with the resident commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer Gonzalez, and with the presidents of the Federation and the Association of Mayors, Carlos Molina and José“ Joe ”Román Abreu, respectively, to inform them that I authorized the coordination with Education so that, starting next week, they can carry out the coordination plan, calculate an estimate of meals to be prepared that they need, and that municipal employees distribute them, “said Vázquez Garced.
“This will help that there are not many people gathered in a space, that minors and their parents and / or guardians do not have to leave their homes, but that they receive this indispensable service,” said the governor.
The Secretary of Education, Eligio Hernández Pérez, reiterated the agency’s commitment to children, especially in these moments of “lock down” by COVID-19.
“The Department of Education will continue to support children’s feeding efforts, this time with the collaboration of the mayors. They will reinforce initiatives that have been made by non-profit entities to ensure that food reaches all places where there is need. It will be a joint collaboration in which each mayor will work with the distribution to avoid conglomeration, while Education will support through the preparation of food for all children and young people from 1 to 18 years old. I appreciate the willingness of municipal executives to collaborate in this effort. Equally, we highly value all the help that the third sector is offering in this entire emergency. We are already working on the plan that we will launch, which will include, among other things, a review of hygiene measures in kitchen kitchens and security equipment for our employees, “said Hernández Pérez.
The resident commissioner He thanked the president’s initiative for “listening to the demands of the people and of all sectors and for deciding to open the school canteens in coordination with our mayors.”
“This will be done by taking all the necessary security measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and using the federal resources that our school canteens have, and the mayors will distribute the lunches. Children under 5 years of age will be included in Head Start programs, as some municipalities such as Manatí and Ciales have done. I thank all the organizations, and especially the mayors of the Federation and Association for always being available and attending to this complaint. Thank you for being leaders in this effort. Our children, our most vulnerable people, will have access to their food after many saw this access stopped by the almost complete paralysis of our routine lives and the supply chain after the coronavirus, “said González.
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The President of the Federation of Mayors He stated: “We thank the governor for showing openness at this difficult time for everyone. We recognize that these are extraordinary circumstances and that this type of decision must be made thoroughly. We also appreciate the incorporation of Commissioner Jenniffer González to this effort. We know that this action will partially mitigate the needs of our vulnerable communities. ”
“I thank the governor for making the determination to open the school cafeterias. This now joins other municipal, church and non-profit initiatives that seek to provide food to the population in need. Our thanks also go to the resident commissioner and to all the people who are willing to work on this project, ”he said. Román Abreu, president of the Association.
We recommend this episode of the podcast With The Editors about the emergency and hunger:
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