Salvation Army will help feed Monessen children

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

Children in Monessen have a free food option beyond the lunches being offered by the school district.

Three evenings a week, the Salvation Army will make the rounds of nine neighborhoods in the city providing free hot meals to youngsters from the unit’s disaster response truck.

“It will run until the kids are back in school. It’s for any kids old enough to eat through 12th grade,” said Capt. Sue Thwaite.

The meals are handed out at nine locations between 4 and 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thwaite said she realized that because all the school lunches were being distributed at the school building, some students were still going without food.

“We are aware of transportation issues in Monessen,” Thwaite said.

For families living in the Park Manor area, it would be a two-mile walk to the school for the free lunch.

“That’s where our feeding truck comes in, because kids can’t get to the sites for the free lunches,” Thwaite said. “We try to do a balanced meal. Once we figure out where we’re getting our food, we may add breakfast in the form of small boxes of cereal or granola bars.”

On Monday, the Salvation Army served 140 children a meal of creamed chicken over mashed potatoes and biscuits, with an apple or an orange, a cookie and a drink.

“We’re not doing any in-house feeding at this time. It’s all grab and go off the truck,” Thwaite said.

Grab-and-go lunches will also be available at the Salvation Army’s Let Us Eat program for students at the Douglas Education Center from noon to 2 p.m. each Wednesday, including today. All meals will be pre-packaged and will be for take-out only. 

“We spend three days a week cooking and delivering around town,” Thwaite said. “We can’t deliver to individual homes and we can’t add to the route. There’s only so long you can hold food, so we only have so much time.”

Food is being delivered on the following schedule: 

• 4-4:20, Park Manor.

•4:25-4:40, Rostraver Apartments.

• 4:45-4:55, Shawnee Park

• 5:05-5:15, DelRosa’s Pizza.

• 5:20-5:30, Monessen Family Care Center.

• 5:35-5:45, Kare for My Kids.

• 5:55-6:05, Highland Manor.

• 6:10-6:20, Little Joe’s Corner Store.

• 6:25 p.m., Rostraver Street.

Thwaite said the Salvation Army could use some additional volunteers, as long as the individuals already have their clearances to work with children or certifications to work with food. All prospective volunteers should call the local center at 724-684-4282 and ask for Capt. Sue or Apryl to schedule an appointment.