KLA Graduates Pilot 'Lunch Bus' Program At Hideaway Hills
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The Summer Food Service Program for Children was created to serve meals when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available. All three Kosciusko County school corporations participate in that federal and state program.
However, three Kosciusko Leadership Academy graduates noticed a gap in the program and made it the mission of their White Paper Project to fill that hole.
The Kosciusko County Lunch Bus program began its pilot run at Hideaway Hills Thursday.
Dacy Newman, one of the three KLA graduates, said her team knew the summer program offered free meals to kids ages 1 to 18 but they saw gaps for kids who lived in rural areas. To reach those kids, they created the Lunch Bus.
Along with Newman, the other team members are Vicki Cook and Kay Kelly.
The vision is still in development and there’s no actual bus yet. However, Newman said, they’ve met with all school corporations and decided to go ahead and pilot the program at Hideaway Hills this summer because of the need.
“We wanted to make sure no kid was left behind and that no one would go hungry,” Cook said.
During the 2012-13 school year, enrollment was 1,979 at Tippecanoe Valley; 7,004 at Warsaw; and 3,112 at Wawasee. The percentages of students on the free/reduced lunch program were 56.54, 49.8 and 47.62 respectively.
To get the program rolling, the KLA team sought the assistance of Warsaw Community Schools Food Service Director Marci Franks. Newman said Franks dove right in with the program. She provided Food Service employees to serve the food and make sure it met the required guidelines.
Cook said Claypool Elementary School also will be providing its summer library program in conjunction with the Lunch Bus two days a week at Hideaway Hills.
Claypool Principal Melissa Rees said the library program will provide books to children on Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer. Claypool PTO, Kids’ Hope and Claypool United Methodist Church volunteers will be there Thursdays to get books out to kids. Claypool librarian Amy Smith will be there Tuesdays.
Newman tipped her hat to schools for being so involved in the summer food program.
“It’s a KLA program, but we’ve gotten a lot of support from many people,” Cook said.
Rees said the Lunch Bus fills a “huge” need. For her students, who live in the Silver Lake and Claypool areas, they can’t always get into Warsaw and Winona Lake where the free summer meals are provided. With the Lunch Bus bringing the program into the southern part of the school district, Rees said Silver Lake and Claypool students will be able to take advantage of it.
Lunches will be provided at Hideaway Hills Mobile Home Park, 2441 W. CR 250S, Warsaw, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, through July 30. No lunches will be served July 1-5.
As for how many students will take advantage of the Lunch Bus, Rees said, “I’m not sure we know what to expect.”
“The more, the merrier,” Cook stated.
Adults can purchase a meal for about $3 so they can eat with their children.
Though the Lunch Bus is just at Hideaway Hills this year, Newman said her KLA team wants to expand the program to Westhaven Estates in the Tippecanoe Valley School District next year.
“We’re just taking baby steps right now,” she said.
“We really have to give credit to the schools. They’ve taken this and gone with it,” Cook said.
“I can have great ideas, but it really takes people to act on it. This has been a great group effort,” Rees commented.
Newman said they will work hard over the next year to get grants and funding for transportation for the program. They want a real lunch bus not only to transport the meals and workers, but also provide shelter to kids in case of rain while they eat.
The vision for the program is to have a Lunch Bus for each school district in the county. The buses would feature a retrofitted interior with booth-style seating where children can eat, and a retractable awning on the exterior for shade for any child who chooses to eat outside. The buses would be equipped with built-in coolers to safely deliver the meals, a built-in generator for electricity and music for the children to enjoy.
She said they see the bus being like an ice cream truck in that when kids see it, they’ll get excited knowing that they won’t have to go hungry for lunch.[[In-content Ad]]
The Summer Food Service Program for Children was created to serve meals when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available. All three Kosciusko County school corporations participate in that federal and state program.
However, three Kosciusko Leadership Academy graduates noticed a gap in the program and made it the mission of their White Paper Project to fill that hole.
The Kosciusko County Lunch Bus program began its pilot run at Hideaway Hills Thursday.
Dacy Newman, one of the three KLA graduates, said her team knew the summer program offered free meals to kids ages 1 to 18 but they saw gaps for kids who lived in rural areas. To reach those kids, they created the Lunch Bus.
Along with Newman, the other team members are Vicki Cook and Kay Kelly.
The vision is still in development and there’s no actual bus yet. However, Newman said, they’ve met with all school corporations and decided to go ahead and pilot the program at Hideaway Hills this summer because of the need.
“We wanted to make sure no kid was left behind and that no one would go hungry,” Cook said.
During the 2012-13 school year, enrollment was 1,979 at Tippecanoe Valley; 7,004 at Warsaw; and 3,112 at Wawasee. The percentages of students on the free/reduced lunch program were 56.54, 49.8 and 47.62 respectively.
To get the program rolling, the KLA team sought the assistance of Warsaw Community Schools Food Service Director Marci Franks. Newman said Franks dove right in with the program. She provided Food Service employees to serve the food and make sure it met the required guidelines.
Cook said Claypool Elementary School also will be providing its summer library program in conjunction with the Lunch Bus two days a week at Hideaway Hills.
Claypool Principal Melissa Rees said the library program will provide books to children on Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer. Claypool PTO, Kids’ Hope and Claypool United Methodist Church volunteers will be there Thursdays to get books out to kids. Claypool librarian Amy Smith will be there Tuesdays.
Newman tipped her hat to schools for being so involved in the summer food program.
“It’s a KLA program, but we’ve gotten a lot of support from many people,” Cook said.
Rees said the Lunch Bus fills a “huge” need. For her students, who live in the Silver Lake and Claypool areas, they can’t always get into Warsaw and Winona Lake where the free summer meals are provided. With the Lunch Bus bringing the program into the southern part of the school district, Rees said Silver Lake and Claypool students will be able to take advantage of it.
Lunches will be provided at Hideaway Hills Mobile Home Park, 2441 W. CR 250S, Warsaw, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, through July 30. No lunches will be served July 1-5.
As for how many students will take advantage of the Lunch Bus, Rees said, “I’m not sure we know what to expect.”
“The more, the merrier,” Cook stated.
Adults can purchase a meal for about $3 so they can eat with their children.
Though the Lunch Bus is just at Hideaway Hills this year, Newman said her KLA team wants to expand the program to Westhaven Estates in the Tippecanoe Valley School District next year.
“We’re just taking baby steps right now,” she said.
“We really have to give credit to the schools. They’ve taken this and gone with it,” Cook said.
“I can have great ideas, but it really takes people to act on it. This has been a great group effort,” Rees commented.
Newman said they will work hard over the next year to get grants and funding for transportation for the program. They want a real lunch bus not only to transport the meals and workers, but also provide shelter to kids in case of rain while they eat.
The vision for the program is to have a Lunch Bus for each school district in the county. The buses would feature a retrofitted interior with booth-style seating where children can eat, and a retractable awning on the exterior for shade for any child who chooses to eat outside. The buses would be equipped with built-in coolers to safely deliver the meals, a built-in generator for electricity and music for the children to enjoy.
She said they see the bus being like an ice cream truck in that when kids see it, they’ll get excited knowing that they won’t have to go hungry for lunch.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092