Wheels are in motion to help communities across North America during the current COVID-19 outbreak. First Student is using its insights, expertise and resources to deliver meals, learning packets and other supplies to students.
“I am incredibly proud of the role our drivers and staff are playing to support families during this unprecedented time,” said First Student President Paul G. Osland. “Hunger is an issue for many students, and we appreciate being able to use our resources to partner with districts to provide children access to the meals and supplies they need while schools are closed.”
More than 150 First Student locations have been actively supporting school districts with a variety of services since March. Drivers have delivered more than one million meals and counting to students in the U.S. and Canada.
Examples include:
- Albany, N.Y.: Daily delivery of more than 1,400 meals for Albany City Schools.
- Gresham, Ore.: Weekly delivery of nearly 6,000 meals for the Gresham-Barlow School District.
- Laconia, N.H.: Daily delivery of 2,400 meals for the Laconia School District.
- Southfield, Mich.: Weekly delivery of 7,200 meals for Southfield Public Schools.
First Student drivers in other communities have transported instructional materials, including books and laptops. In Buffalo, N.Y., staff delivered 7,000 curriculum packets across the city in one day for Buffalo Public Schools. In addition, First Student locations have provided transportation shuttles for healthcare workers and others on the front line of the pandemic.
First Planning Solutions has also supported more than 25 school districts with logistics and planning of meal and school supply deliveries. First Student’s dedicated routing division works to develop efficient bus routes for districts to help reduce operating costs.