Ossining Students Build Skills as they Help Vulnerable Families

Every Tuesday, Ossining High School sophomore Jay-Lin Marbury has a reminder for his teacher, Patricia Guerin: “Tomorrow’s DoorDash,” he tells her.

Each week, she responds, “Bring your muscles and your sneakers.”

Ms. Guerin and her class play a key role in distributing food to vulnerable families in Ossining. They work with the district’s OPRIME program to prepare and hand out bags of fresh fruits and vegetables from Feeding Westchester to DoorDash drivers, who deliver them to households. The United Way of Westchester and Putnam funds a grant to coordinate the program with the food delivery company.

“They love it. It gives them a sense of pride, responsibility,” Ms. Guerin said of the seven special education students. “The DoorDash drivers are so nice and we’re getting regulars now. The same drivers come every week, so we have relationships.”

The Board of Education, Superintendent Raymond Sanchez and Megan Mastrogiacomo, the district’s community school leader, recognized Ms. Guerin and her students at the board’s Jan. 19 meeting.

Dr. Sanchez noted that there are many heroes in the community, and they come in all different forms. In this case, they are Ms. Guerin, her staff and her students.

Ms. Mastrogiacomo thanked Ms. Guerin and her students for all their efforts to make the program run so smoothly, adding that they were the first to offer their help when the United Way, Feeding Westchester and the Ossining School District set up the program in 2020.

Initially, they sorted and packed bags for about 65 families and general education students helped deliver it to drivers after school. Now, the bags that arrive at the school are pre-packed. Ms. Guerin’s students pack bags into DoorDash drivers’ cars for some 180 families. And they do it no matter the weather – rain, freezing cold and summer heat, Ms. Mastrogiacomo noted.

“This program is a beautiful example of relative learning,” she said. “Students are supporting our community and practicing their job skills that could possibly support them in a future occupation. I cannot thank them enough for all of their hard work.”

When they had all received their certificates of appreciation, the team received a standing ovation from trustees and audience members. “Thank you for all your work,” Board President Graig Galef said. “It’s just great to see.”

Teaching Assistant Elsa Rylands also assists with the DoorDash program, and the class coordinates closely with OHS custodians.

One Wednesday in December, Ms. Guerin and her students were handing out bags that included apples, asparagus, carrots and oranges. Drivers started picking up their bags around 11 a.m. Jay-Lin and his classmates counted out the bags, placed them on a cart and pushed it up a small hill to deliver the food to drivers.

“The drivers pick up an average of 10 bags at a time, and every driver gets a bag as our way of saying thank you for participating,” Ms. Guerin said.

Jessica Morocho, a sophomore, said helping with the food program makes her feel good. “It’s nice to give food to the people,” she said.

“Sometimes there’s extra food we can take home,” she added.

One of the goals of Ms. Guerin’s program is to help students gain employability skills. They have practiced many while working with Feeding Westchester and DoorDash, such as organizing, deciding what to put in each bag, counting and working together. They use their social skills to greet and chat with DoorDash drivers.

“We’ve gone from just starting out to being a well-oiled machine,” Ms. Guerin said. “They’ve got it down. The kids are phenomenal.”

Ms. Guerin and her class also coordinate OHS’ Marketplace program, a food pantry that is available to students and staff. It had to shut down initially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been slower to build up again. Anyone can request food and can have it delivered in the school or pick it up after school if they want anonymity, Ms. Guerin said.

“The whole purpose of the marketplace in the school is to take away the stigma of a food pantry, but it’s going very slowly. It’s really hard,” she said.

“We try to send the message that whatever you need to get food into your house, we will accommodate you,” she added.