WEST SPRINGFIELD – Timothy Connor, superintendent of West Springfield Public Schools, provided updates on the district’s food security and distribution plan for families and students during a recent School Committee meeting.

As part of their strategy, West Springfield Public Schools will now be offering dinners for families in need. Each Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m., these families can visit the West Springfield High School to pick up five meals that they can either freeze or heat up, according to Connor.

“It’s an effort for the school department to support our kids and our families as much as possible,” said Connor, with regards to the updates.

Dario Nardi, director of food services for West Springfield schools, along with his cafeteria staff, have served 268,000 breakfasts and lunches to families and students since COVID-19 forced schools to close in March 2020.

“As I mentioned at the beginning of this whole thing back in March, we need to stay together on this,” said Connor. “And this is an example of the work coming out of the food service that needs to be applauded.”

According to Nancy Farrell, the vice chair of the School Committee, the meals are administered through a grant that was provided outside of the West Springfield School Department.

Nardi and Jennifer Brennan – the director of Social/Emotional Learning and Title IX coordinator for the school system – are compiling a list of people who do not have proper access to transportation, and Nardi’s team is working on ways to get food out to these specific residents. They plan on utilizing bus services, which is what they did in the spring, to assist those families.

“Being able to offer this in the afternoon to try to capture some of those folks who may not be able to get there between 11 [a.m.] and 1 [p.m.] daily is pretty cool,” said Nardi. “We’re always looking to expand, and there’s always things to be done to make the program better.”

Nardi also said that people from surrounding communities-specifically Agawam and Springfield – have come to pick up food at West Springfield schools.

“We’re grateful to be able to provide this service to the community, and we’re always here to help out when needed,” said Nardi.

After such a high demand on the first Wednesday for this program, Nardi and company have doubled their orders for food and drinks for future weeks. No matter what, Nardi said, something will be put into the bags for families to bring home. He expects by the end of January, they should know exactly how much to order.

The cafeteria staff will also provide food during the February and April vacations.