Rensselaer mom organizes school district's meal distribution as food service staff quarantines

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) — All the food service workers who put together the lunches for Rensselaer City School District’s meal program are under mandatory quarantine because of a COVID-19 exposure, bringing the usual distribution to a screeching halt.

“The last-minute nature of the meals being cancelled was very difficult on a lot of families, and it’s difficult to plan," said Todd Rutecki, a parent in the district.

75 families would’ve been without the meals. As soon as Stacy Hover, another parent in the district found out, she posted on Facebook, and quickly started racking up comments from people offering their time and money.

“When push comes to shove, we always come together," said Hover, "we help each other out." I got a huge outpouring of community support.”

Hover says the families who needed the help weren’t coming forward, so she formed a partnership with the district, and coordinated a plan to get the meals to the families enrolled in the program at their usual pick-up spots.

“It’s trusted, it’s normal, they’re just showing up to get the school lunch, they think," Hover explained. "When they get there, they’re going to get a whole entire bag of additional foods.”

That extra food came from the generosity of neighbors and local businesses.

“We raised almost $1000 to stuff additional bags. Price Chopper and Hannaford both gave us huge contributions," Hover told NEWS10.