NOLA-PS & HandsOn NOLA Partner to Deliver School Meals to Family Homes

500+ meals will be delivered via DoorDash every week.

Media RSVP Required. Media opportunity not open to the public.

WHAT:

As part of a pilot program that NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) hopes to expand, more than 500 meals will be delivered weekly to the homes of 50 families, thanks to a donation received from United Way of Southeast Louisiana's (UWSELA) Ride United's Last Mile Delivery program and HandsOn New Orleans (HandsOn), a volunteer organization. Meal delivery takes place on Mondays and Wednesdays. The program is for families with students who participate in virtual learning.

UWSELA and HandsOn are partnering with NOLA-PS to provide free home-delivery service of school meals through a grant from UWSELA to participate in Ride United's Last Mile Delivery Program using DoorDash, an online food delivery platform and service. This generous partnership includes school meal delivery directly to our families' homes.

This initiative expands NOLA-PS's ongoing efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide meals to students in need. NOLA-PS and our schools continue to run a districtwide community feeding program that so far has provided more than 1.4 million meals to school families since the spring of 2020.

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 5 from 8:15AM – 9:30AM, the delivery service will be provided to a limited number of schools, as we look to expand the program.

Video/Picture Opportunities:

• 8:15am - 9:00am Bethune Elementary Child Nutrition staff prepare meals & package them for delivery
• 8:55am - 9:30am DoorDash drivers line up and pack their cars with meals and start making deliveries
• 9:30am - All DoorDash pick-ups are completed

WHERE:

Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary (only location of media opportunity)

Lusher Middle/High School

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY:

Visuals:

• Child Nutrition Team preparing meals & distributing meals to DoorDash Drivers
• DoorDash Drivers delivering meals to families

Interviews:

• Michael Williamson, United Way of Southeast Louisiana Chief Executive Officer
• Robert Geshay, HandsOn NOLA Assistant Director of Disaster Management
• Tiffany Delcour, NOLA-PS Chief Operations Officer
• Donnyette Love, Bethune Elementary Social Worker
• Families receiving food at their homes

ALL MEDIA MUST RSVP TO COMMUNICATIONS@NOLAPUBLICSCHOOLS.COM BY 6:00 PM • TUESDAY, MAY 4, IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING. PLEASE NOTE TO LIMIT YOUR CREWS TO NO MORE THAN 2 PEOPLE. WE ALSO ASK THAT YOU RESPECT SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THAT MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM WEAR PROTECTIVE MASKS ONSITE. OUR TEAM WILL FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES AS WELL.

WHY:

In order to learn well, our children and youth must eat well. Nutrition plays a key role in the healthy development of our children. Nutritious foods provide our body and mind with the energy needed to grow, feel well, be active, stay healthy, and learn. All reasons this delivery food initiative is designed to support student learning and reinforce the importance and benefits of making healthy eating choices a regular part of their day.

It's School Nutrition Employees Week (May 3 - May 7), and the NOLA-PS Child Nutrition team is excited to be working on logistics and ways to bundle multiple days-worth of meals for delivery. On Wednesday, families who have opted into the program will receive three days of breakfast and lunch delivered to their homes (six meals total). Going forward, pickup and delivery will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The food delivery program truly highlights how our community is working together to help feed our students whose families may not have the resources or the access to pick up meals during the school week. Along with HandsOn New Orleans and DoorDash, we have received a generous donation from Second Harvest. So far, they have donated 800 sturdy paper bags NOLA-PS will use for bundling meals.

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.

For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools. 

About United Way of Southeast Louisiana: For more than 95 years, United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA) has been a leader and trusted partner in improving lives and making a lasting difference. We fight to eradicate poverty by preparing people for quality jobs, growing incomes, and affording better health and education opportunities throughout Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. We have a bold vision of equitable communities where all individuals are healthy, educated, and financially stable – and we have a plan. United Way of Southeast Louisiana's Blueprint for Prosperity guides all strategic investments in programs, initiatives, collaborations, volunteerism, and advocacy aimed at tackling poverty. For more information, please visit UnitedWaySELA.org. Find us on social: @UnitedWaySELA.

About HandsOn New Orleans: HandsOn New Orleans is a local affiliate of the Points of Light Global Network. We envision a socially just community with happy, healthy, prosperous people. The organization supports over 213 nonprofits in the seven-parish metro area through collaborative efforts that promote educational equity in the public school system, improve access to community services and resources, foster healthy lifestyles, sustain the natural and built environment, and assist residents on emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. Neighbors must help neighbors. Our hands are outstretched to yours. We welcome your help and invite you to join our mission to engage, empower, and transform our community through volunteer service.