Students from seven municipalities of the island may receive non-perishable food by postal mail from the Education deparment.
This was reported on Tuesday by the agency’s secretary, Eligio Hernández, who explained that the towns were selected by the Food Nutrition Service (FNS) program, which is attached to the United States Department of Agriculture.
The official explained that the initiative called “Meals for you” is a pilot program following the pandemic by the COVID-19 and that the food boxes contain products for a duration of two weeks.
The selected municipalities, classified as rural, are Coamo, Culebra, Jayuya, Maricao, Santa Isabel, Salinas and Vieques.
It was detailed that shipments could be made for a maximum of eight weeks and that the only requirement to apply is to be enrolled in one of the 44 schools in these municipalities.
“There are an estimated 11,893 registered students. Likewise, the siblings of these students who are between the ages of 1 to 18 can also receive boxes of food and do not necessarily have to be enrolled”, maintains a press release from Education.
Hernández explained that the parents of the students must access the portal www.mealstoyou.org to apply for food to the federal agency. The portal can be adjusted to the Spanish language and has an explanatory video on the process. Parents should select the “Emergency” option and then click on the “Individuals and Families” icon. The deadline to apply for aid is May 31.
“Achieving the inclusion of several rural towns in this project is a relief for thousands of families living in distant areas. This project joins the initiative of food distribution through school canteens that started last week and the donation from food to hundreds of non-profit entities to bring purchases and hot meals to families in need, ‘the official said.
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