Lincoln Avenue School fire forces summer meal site change
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A fire at Lincoln Avenue School on Tuesday, June 30, forced a change for families who rely on the school's free summer meal site.
After learning the school could no longer serve meals, Hunger Task Force redirected families to Rogers Street Academy and other nearby sites so children could continue receiving free meals without interruption.
"When we found out the Lincoln School this morning had a fire, we made sure that we were able to give our community the next closest site," said Tania Ramsey, a child nutrition organizer with Hunger Task Force.
The organization also updated the summer meals map on its website, removing Lincoln Avenue School and directing families to the nearest available locations to avoid confusion.
"Yesterday, the Lincoln School was on there, but right away we wanted to make sure that community members have the right information, so Lincoln School is not on there today," Ramsey said.
Ramsey said moving families to nearby sites also helps reduce transportation barriers for those who walk to pick up meals.
"Just like Lincoln, unfortunately, we couldn’t help that it burned, but now they’re able to go to somewhere that’s walking distance nearby and it cancels out that transportation barrier for families that don’t have cars," Ramsey said.
For families who depend on the program each summer, the change in location did not change the need.
Phyllis Pleester, who brought her grandchildren to get free summer meals, said she first learned about the fire Tuesday morning. "I heard that Lincoln School was on fire," Pleester said. "Everybody, I’m sure, is grateful that hopefully nobody got hurt. God worked."
Pleester said the meals help support her family. "My son is a single dad, so I’m trying to do the best I can for him. It helps out, it helps a lot of families," she said.
Hunger Task Force says families can use this online summer meals map to find the closest open site.