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Food, Learning Materials Passed Out in Ohio County

Officials with Ohio County Schools prepare to pass out food items for children learning at home.

WHEELING — Ohio County Schools on Tuesday resumed its distribution of food for students learning at home during the current coronavirus outbreak.

An estimated 2,700 meal bags were passed out, and these included enough food items for breakfasts and lunches over the next three days. This equals about 16,200 meals for children across the county, according to Gabe Wells, communications coordinator for Ohio County Schools.

A half gallon of milk from United Dairy also was handed out with each bag, with families receiving one bag for each child.

The next distribution is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, and it is expected these will continue each Friday as long as children are off from schools. Children ages 2-18 qualify for the free food items under U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines.

Instructional packets for students who don’t have access to the internet also may be picked up during the meal distributions.

On March 23, more than 2,000 meals were distributed at Bridge Street Middle School alone, according to Assistant Principal David Crumm.

The number of cars waiting to pick up food and materials created a traffic jam on nearby W.Va. 88 and onto National Road.

On Tuesday, not all parents or their representatives came to pick up both food and instructional packets. Some needed only one or the other.

At least one parent said she came only for the instructional packets.

“I have enough food at home. Let somebody else have it who needs it,” she said.

James Baron came to pick up food for his relatives who have been dealing with other issues in recent days.

“I came for my niece who lives on Browns Run,” he said. “They can’t get out because the road is torn up from all the flooding.”

He thought the food distribution was a wonderful thing for students and their parents.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Nakeshia Berisford has a child in seventh grade at Bridge Street.

“This is very important,” she said. “It helps out a lot.”

Bridge Street Principal Jessica Broski-Birch said a recent survey of Ohio County parents indicated about 10% of Bridge Street students do not have access to the internet. This compares to 4% of students across the county.

“That’s why we have the instructional packets,” she said. “If they can’t get here to get them, we will find other ways to get them to them.”

Students without the internet also would not have access to tutorial videos that could help them with their learning. Broski-Birch said many teachers compensate for this by including extra instructional worksheets in the hard-copy packets for students.

Broski-Birch said she has been surprised by the number of students who have reached out to their teachers to overcome challenges they face with home learning.

There have been a number of calls to the school saying a student has something in their locker they need at home, and arrangements are made for them to come get it, she said.

There also have been many questions about how to use the technology to complete assignments. Chromebooks allow teachers to access the student’s device to do a split screen and assist them if need be, according to Broski-Birch.

“Even when we are not together, we are supporting them,” she said. “When we get through this, there will be more unified education in the county for the long-term.”

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