Ossining to Hold Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for OPower! Food Service Bus

According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, food insecurity is increasing once more due to the expiration of pandemic income support and the rapid rise in food prices. Census survey data indicate a growing number of New Yorkers reporting insufficient access to food.

To meet this alarming need, the Ossining School District is thrilled to announce the launch of the OPower! Food Service Bus—a retrofitted school bus that has been transformed into a mobile kitchen to serve meals to students across the district during the summer.

In recent years, the Ossining School District's Food Service Program has been expanding, particularly during July and August. Last summer, the district provided over 20,000 breakfast and lunch meals, with more than 5,500 of those meals served from a regular school bus that made stops throughout the town. To keep up with this demand, the district purchased an old school bus, refurbished it, and equipped it with kitchen equipment, creating the OPower! Bus.

According to Alita Zuber, Assistant Superintendent of Business, the OPower! Bus is an innovative solution to meet the increasing need for the summer meal program.

"We're proud to offer healthy and nutritious meals to our students, and we're grateful for the hard work and dedication of our maintenance and facility employees who made this project a reality," said Ms. Zuber. We are also pleased that the cost of retro-fitting the bus was funded with non-tax-payer dollars. All work and equipment are funded through the District's Cafeteria Fund. So not only does increase access to students to food over the summer months, it was done at no cost to the taxpayer.”

The idea for the OPower! Bus was inspired by the Gates-Chili Central School District in Rochester, NY, where Ossining Assistant Business Administrator Starr Dinio witnessed a similar concept being utilized.

"I saw how successful the program was in their district, and I knew we could do the same here in Ossining," said Dinio.

The Ossining Summer Food Program, which offers free breakfast and lunch to children 18 and under on weekdays, commences on July 1 and runs through August 19, Monday through Friday. The program is fully funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the state Education Department, with assistance from Hunger Solutions – New York, and there are no income requirements.

Starting in July, the bus will stop at the Ossining Recreation Center, Ossining Public Library, Snowden House Apartments, and other sites yet to be determined.

"We are excited to officially launch the use of the OPower! Bus and provide our students with healthy meals when school is out of session," added Superintendent Dr. Raymond Sanchez. "The OPower! Bus is an excellent addition to our food service program and will allow us to reach even more students in need."

The OPower! Bus is a testament to the Ossining School District's commitment to providing healthy and nutritious meals to all students. With the addition of the mobile kitchen, the district is better equipped to meet the growing demand for the summer meal program and ensure that no student goes hungry.

To mark the debut of the OPower! Bus, the district will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, June 9th, at AMD Middle School Buildings and Grounds Campus at 10 AM. The event will recognize the time and talent contributed by the Ossining staff to the project.

For more information about the Ossining School District's Summer Food Program, please visit the district's website.