BUCKHANNON – Having trouble getting to the food distribution site for five-day food boxes due to a lack of reliable transportation, timing issues or any other obstacle?

Fortunately, now two companies are collaborating with Upshur County Schools to offer a solution. Multitude Foods, Fed Ex and Upshur County Schools are partnering go offer food delivery for full-time remote students, ages 18 and younger, in the school district.

Upshur County Schools Director of Wellness and Child Nutrition Eddie Vincent said originally, food boxes were delivered to students utilizing school buses.

“With the COVID-19 situations we were having, we opted to have curbside pickup for students at the schools and the warehouse for food,” Vincent said. “The five-day boxes are for students age 18 and under who are fully remote.”

Vincent said the partners collaborated to develop the new program.

“Multitude Foods and Fed Ex will be able to ship our five-day boxes to students if they choose to receive them that way,” he said. “Some do not have transportation and others have no way to get their food boxes, so we are going to be able to ship the food directly to their homes once a week through Fed Ex.”

Vincent said the program is hoping to start shipment of food to student homes by the end of February or sooner. He said parents need to sign up to begin receiving the five-day food boxes. Vincent noted the Upshur County Schools website has the link to register, adding that if parents are having issues getting signed up, they should contact the student’s home school principal for assistance in getting the student registered.

“Each of the principals sent home information to the full-time remote students’ homes,” Vincent said. “We have already had more than 100 responses of families who have signed up to receive the boxes.”

The purpose of this partnership is to assure that kids who are full-time remote have access to the food they need – and to overcome such obstacles as a lack of transportation to pick up the boxes.

“This is a trial run with the full-time virtual remote kids,” Vincent said. “If it works, we hope to add the delivery for home-schooled students.”

Vincent said the program with Multitude Foods and Fed Ex was tested in Marshall County, West Virginia, where it was successful.

Students participating in full-time remote instruction can register here to have their five-day boxes shipped directly to their home weekly by completing the survey link below by Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.