City of Rochester
News Release
Selected R-Centers, RCSD schools to provide meals for children Libraries will remain open during regular operating hours
(Sunday, March 15, 2020) — Mayor Lovely A. Warren was joined today by Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, Rochester City School District Superintendent Terry Dade and Julia Tedesco, Foodlink President and CEO to announce that starting tomorrow, March 16, nine City R-Centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday to provide meals to the city’s school-age children. These centers will serve grab and go meals throughout the day during the school closures prompted by the response to COVID-19. The City will be providing these services in conjunction with the Rochester City School District (RCSD) and Foodlink. The operations beginning tomorrow closely mirror the food services that R-Centers provide during the summer school break.
“The City of Rochester is ready to step up and provide for our children and families,” said Mayor Warren. “Our R-Centers already serve thousands of kids every month. Now they will provide three meals per day just as they do every year during summer break. Our staff is ready and will meet this need. Supporting kids and parents is what we do.”
The following R-Centers will serve pre-packaged breakfast, lunch and dinner meals: Adams Street, 85 Adams St.; Ave D, 200 Ave. D; Carter St., 500 Carter St.; Tyshaun Cauldwell, 524 Campbell St.; Frederick Douglass, 990 South Ave.; Flint Street, 271 Flint St.; David Gantt, 700 North St.; Trenton and Pamela Jackson (Clinton-Baden), 485 N. Clinton Ave.; Thomas Ryan, 530 Webster Ave.
The chosen R-Centers are larger in size, and are historically well attended. Their geographic locations complement the schools chosen by RCSD that will also provide meals.
The following RCSD schools will provide grab and go meals between 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday: East Upper & Lower School, 1801 E. Main St.; Dr. Freddy Thomas Campus, 625 Scio St.; the former Jefferson High School, 1 Edgerton Pk.; James Monroe High School, 164 Alexander St.; John Williams School No. 5, 555 Plymouth Ave.; Wilson Foundation Academy, 200 Genesee St.. School #42, 3330 Lake Ave. School sites will be open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. providing pack and go breakfast lunch and dinner.
Staff from closed R-Centers will be re-assigned to the operating R-Centers to assist with the influx of children. In addition, enhanced cleaning protocols at the sites will be in operation for the duration of the program.
In addition, families needing assistance regarding food, shelter or other non-medical services are encouraged to call Lifeline at 211.
The following R-Centers will be closed and staff will be transferred to the open centers: Edgerton, 41 Backus St.; 17 School, 158 Orchard St.; Humboldt, 1045 Atlantic; Roxie Sinkler, 75 Grover St.
“I want to thank Foodlink and the RCSD for partnering with us on behalf of our children and families,” continued Mayor Warren. “It’s going to take a community wide response to overcome the ongoing challenges that this disease presents.”
The City also announced that its libraries will remain open during their regular operating hours through March 22. This will allow residents to use library resources to apply for benefits and access government services.
“Foodlink is mobilizing resources to ensure everyone in our community – particularly the most vulnerable citizens – has access to food during this difficult time,” said Julia Tedesco, President and CEO of Foodlink. “It’s our expectation to deliver more than 70,000 additional meals to children – and 2 million pounds of food through the emergency food system – to our community partners in the next few weeks alone. We want to thank Monroe County and the City of Rochester for working with us to make this possible.”
For more information, residents can call 311 (585-428-5990 outside city limits) or visit www.cityofrochester.gov/coronavirus.
###
News media: For more information, contact the Communications Bureau at 428-7135.