As need grows, Miami schools distribute meals over winter break for first time

The line for food stretched as far as the eye could see Wednesday down Northwest 22nd Avenue.

Melinda Herrera shut off her black Nissan to save what was left in her gas tank as she waited to turn into Citrus Grove Elementary, where her 7-year-old son, Serafin, attends second grade. He was already in the back seat. She was there to pick up what would get them through the next two weeks: apples, bread, boxed milk.

When it was her turn to get food, her car stalled. Miami-Dade Schools Police tried jumping the car to no avail.

Herrera had a breakdown. She lost her mother to COVID-19 a few days ago. She was laid off from her job at Home Depot. She signed up for a $250 Publix gift card, but two weeks have passed without a phone call.

“It’s just so much,” Herrera, a 48-year-old single mother, said, wiping away tears. “It’s been one thing after another and it’s been so hard.”

Herrera was one of dozens of families who came by car, foot and ride share on Wednesday to pick up bulk groceries to sustain them over the winter break. It’s the first time Miami-Dade County Public Schools has distributed meals over winter break, thanks to leniency granted by a government waiver.

“Food insecurity continues to be a sad reality in our community,” said Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho, who helped load food into open car trunks. “We recognize during this pandemic many families are struggling.”

Citrus Grove Elementary is one of 139 schools with 90% or more students who qualify for free and reduced lunch in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Those schools on Wednesday distributed 1.2 million meals, enough for 12 breakfasts and 12 lunches for 40,000 students in need.

With help from celebrity chef José Andrés, the school district said it will deliver 500 hot meals a day for nine days over the break to where the neediest students reside in pre-selected communities.

Carvalho said the school district, which is donating food that is reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is not feeling the same squeeze as other food distribution charities, nor seeing an uptick in need. He said that’s because the district has routinely distributed food throughout the pandemic, and families know where to go.

At Citrus Grove, school staff volunteered to stay after hours to help with food distribution. Assistant Principal Maria Y. Rodriguez said the school received enough food for 400 families. The school has an enrollment of about 800.

“It’s a needy community,” she said. “We do our best. We love our families. They’re good people.”

Rodriguez said the food drive offered a unique opportunity for school staff: They could see — and in some cases meet for the first time — students learning online from home during the pandemic. A majority of the school’s students are learning from home.

“We get to see the kids,” Rodriguez said. “That was really nice.”

Caridad Guevara, 31, loaded up a grocery cart with enough food for her husband and her three children in tow, Leyla, 10, Robger, 7, and Jocelyn, 2.

Her husband is on his sixth job during the pandemic, now working as a tire technician. It’s still not enough: Her food stamps were reduced from $600 a month to just $61.

“What am I gonna do with $61?” Guevara said. “I have three kids, my husband and me. ... I’m making it work, but it’s hard.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 7:30 PM.