Staff photo / Lily Nickel Austintown Superintendent David Cappuzzello, right, and food service director Alexis Weber, left, load meals into a car during the senior citizen drive-thru dinner.

AUSTINTOWN — School leaders handed out more than 300 hot dinners to local senior citizens during its bi-annual senior dinner on Wednesday.

The spring senior citizen drive-thru dinner had cars lined all the way down North Raccoon Road, and the dedicated crew, including Superintendent David Cappuzzello and food service director Alexis Weber, braved the unseasonably cold weather to personally deliver the meals.

“It’s always a great thing to give back to the community and show them that we’re here for them,” Cappuzzello said.

For over 30 years, Austintown Local Schools has hosted a senior citizen dinner in the fall and spring. It’s normally more of an event, according to Weber, but it has been a drive-thru version for the last six dinners because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dinners only cost $2 each.

“It’s usually a big social thing, it’s just a way to give back to our seniors,” Weber said.

Austintown police helped direct traffic, and the district’s assistant treasurer, Andrea Apisa, public relations specialist Brittany Morell and multiple kitchen staff members assisted in the drive-thru.

Cappuzzello said community outreach is critical for the school district. When the event is hosted inside the school, it gives community members an inside look at the district.

“It’s such a prideful community, it gives them a chance to get inside and talk about what’s going on in the school,” Cappuzello said. “It gives them a chance to understand what’s going on in our schools and what we’re trying to accomplish.”