Restaurants Helping WCS Feed 1,600 Students
April 13, 2020 at 11:28 p.m.
Restaurants Helping WCS Feed 1,600 Students
By David [email protected]
And two local restaurants – One Ten Craft Meatery and American Table – are helping WCS meet that need.
WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said that last week 1,100 students were provided 10 meals each for the week. This week, that figure grew to 1,600 students. WCS’s student population is over 6,900.
“The numbers keep going up every week,” Hoffert said. “We had 350 to 400 the first week.”
The school corporation is operating under a summer meal program waiver that currently allows meals to be taken home in order to reduce disease transmission, according to a WCS news release. Every Monday during the closure, meals for five days are distributed at one time providing each child with breakfast and lunch for a total of 10 meals for the week. Meals include shelf-stable items, as well as fresh and frozen foods.
Hoffert said the food comes in the Thursday and Friday before. It’s prepared over the weekend and put into sacks all weekend. At 9 a.m. Mondays, meals are delivered to doors of families who can’t make it to the pick-up site. The pick-up site is 2 to 4 p.m. Monday at Lakeview for those who preregistered.
The line Monday snaked down Smith Street and behind the middle school where registration was handled. Families are given an envelope with the number of sacks of food and gallons/cartons of milk needed. Hoffert said everything is measured out. Vehicle drivers are asked to pop their trunks so everyone can practice social distancing and remain safe.
Hoffert said WCS’s Food & Nutrition and Transportation departments are amazing as they are the backbone to help keep the program going. A number of volunteers help with the program, with about four to five at each of the three stations Monday, which Hoffert said would probably have to increase to five stations next week.
WCS has had to limit its number of volunteers helping with the food program due to social distancing, but Hoffert said WCS was thankful for people’s willingness to help.
“They know what they’re doing so they get it done quickly. We’re thankful we can do this for our kids so no kids have to go hungry,” Hoffert said.
There’s an additional 500 Boomerang Backpacks that go out every Friday so kids don’t have to go hungry over the weekend. Boomerang Backpacks provides children from low-income families with a weekend assortment of snacks.
There is no income level for WCS families to receive meals on Mondays because circumstances have changed for many due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hoffert said. They are just asked to preregister.
“There is a lot of need here that wasn’t here a few weeks ago because of furloughs” and other circumstances, he said.
On any given school day, almost 50% of children attending WCS depend on the school meals provided, with some schools over 65%, according to the news release.
The USDA does not mandate that schools offer food service during closures due to the pandemic. This decision is left to local school superintendents and school boards who are encouraged to provide USDA feeding programs to ensure that the nutritional needs of children in need are met during extended closures, the release states.
Hoffert said a number of school systems have had to shut down their meal programs due to problems like labor shortages. “We’re so blessed we can do this,” he said.
Due to the increasing numbers of families registering children for free meals, the logistics of serving more than 15,000 meals in a matter of a few hours has been daunting, the release states. Preparing this large volume of food in a short period of time, while practicing appropriate social distancing, limits the number of people working in close proximity to one another. In meeting this challenge, WCS sought the guidance of Chef Scott Tope, Warsaw, the release states. Within days of schools being closed and receiving stay-at-home orders, Tope contacted Marci Franks, director of WCS Food Service, to ask how he could be of assistance.
Less than a week later, the first steps in partnering with local restaurants began to take place. Working together, Tope, WCS Assistant Director of Food Service Stacie Light and Franks met with local restaurant owners Chris Katris from American Table and Jason Brown from One Ten Craft Meatery to develop a plan.
Rigorous standards must be met by food service establishments in order to be properly licensed by state and local health departments. These standards are followed by the USDA nutritional specifications required for all school and summer meal programs. With the required elements in place, the next step was to create a menu and put each restaurant to work to provide specific food items to be included with the week of meals being distributed, according to the release.
Partnering with local restaurants is a “win-win-win,” the release states. Restaurants are able to keep employees working, WCS Food Service staff can spend less time at work and more time in the safety of their home with loved ones and children throughout the community will receive the healthy meals they need.
Hoffert said, “Our hope is that as soon as things start opening back up, we can do things like summer school which has a summer food program, but the timetable is unknown. Food Service works with the USDA and the state so there’s different subsidies that go into it.”
Free meals are distributed each Monday at Lakeview Middle School between 2 and 4 p.m. to any child up through age 18. Children are not required to be present but must be registered in advance to allow adequate time for preparation. It is not necessary to register more than once to receive meals each Monday.
Registration opens weekly beginning at 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Thursday for the next week.
Families currently not receiving free or reduced meal benefits are encouraged to apply today if there has been a change in family income. While not required for the free meals provided during the school closure, benefits extend for the first 30 days of the 2020-21 school year to help families recover financially.
Online applications are available at www.wcsfoodandnutrition.org.
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And two local restaurants – One Ten Craft Meatery and American Table – are helping WCS meet that need.
WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said that last week 1,100 students were provided 10 meals each for the week. This week, that figure grew to 1,600 students. WCS’s student population is over 6,900.
“The numbers keep going up every week,” Hoffert said. “We had 350 to 400 the first week.”
The school corporation is operating under a summer meal program waiver that currently allows meals to be taken home in order to reduce disease transmission, according to a WCS news release. Every Monday during the closure, meals for five days are distributed at one time providing each child with breakfast and lunch for a total of 10 meals for the week. Meals include shelf-stable items, as well as fresh and frozen foods.
Hoffert said the food comes in the Thursday and Friday before. It’s prepared over the weekend and put into sacks all weekend. At 9 a.m. Mondays, meals are delivered to doors of families who can’t make it to the pick-up site. The pick-up site is 2 to 4 p.m. Monday at Lakeview for those who preregistered.
The line Monday snaked down Smith Street and behind the middle school where registration was handled. Families are given an envelope with the number of sacks of food and gallons/cartons of milk needed. Hoffert said everything is measured out. Vehicle drivers are asked to pop their trunks so everyone can practice social distancing and remain safe.
Hoffert said WCS’s Food & Nutrition and Transportation departments are amazing as they are the backbone to help keep the program going. A number of volunteers help with the program, with about four to five at each of the three stations Monday, which Hoffert said would probably have to increase to five stations next week.
WCS has had to limit its number of volunteers helping with the food program due to social distancing, but Hoffert said WCS was thankful for people’s willingness to help.
“They know what they’re doing so they get it done quickly. We’re thankful we can do this for our kids so no kids have to go hungry,” Hoffert said.
There’s an additional 500 Boomerang Backpacks that go out every Friday so kids don’t have to go hungry over the weekend. Boomerang Backpacks provides children from low-income families with a weekend assortment of snacks.
There is no income level for WCS families to receive meals on Mondays because circumstances have changed for many due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hoffert said. They are just asked to preregister.
“There is a lot of need here that wasn’t here a few weeks ago because of furloughs” and other circumstances, he said.
On any given school day, almost 50% of children attending WCS depend on the school meals provided, with some schools over 65%, according to the news release.
The USDA does not mandate that schools offer food service during closures due to the pandemic. This decision is left to local school superintendents and school boards who are encouraged to provide USDA feeding programs to ensure that the nutritional needs of children in need are met during extended closures, the release states.
Hoffert said a number of school systems have had to shut down their meal programs due to problems like labor shortages. “We’re so blessed we can do this,” he said.
Due to the increasing numbers of families registering children for free meals, the logistics of serving more than 15,000 meals in a matter of a few hours has been daunting, the release states. Preparing this large volume of food in a short period of time, while practicing appropriate social distancing, limits the number of people working in close proximity to one another. In meeting this challenge, WCS sought the guidance of Chef Scott Tope, Warsaw, the release states. Within days of schools being closed and receiving stay-at-home orders, Tope contacted Marci Franks, director of WCS Food Service, to ask how he could be of assistance.
Less than a week later, the first steps in partnering with local restaurants began to take place. Working together, Tope, WCS Assistant Director of Food Service Stacie Light and Franks met with local restaurant owners Chris Katris from American Table and Jason Brown from One Ten Craft Meatery to develop a plan.
Rigorous standards must be met by food service establishments in order to be properly licensed by state and local health departments. These standards are followed by the USDA nutritional specifications required for all school and summer meal programs. With the required elements in place, the next step was to create a menu and put each restaurant to work to provide specific food items to be included with the week of meals being distributed, according to the release.
Partnering with local restaurants is a “win-win-win,” the release states. Restaurants are able to keep employees working, WCS Food Service staff can spend less time at work and more time in the safety of their home with loved ones and children throughout the community will receive the healthy meals they need.
Hoffert said, “Our hope is that as soon as things start opening back up, we can do things like summer school which has a summer food program, but the timetable is unknown. Food Service works with the USDA and the state so there’s different subsidies that go into it.”
Free meals are distributed each Monday at Lakeview Middle School between 2 and 4 p.m. to any child up through age 18. Children are not required to be present but must be registered in advance to allow adequate time for preparation. It is not necessary to register more than once to receive meals each Monday.
Registration opens weekly beginning at 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Thursday for the next week.
Families currently not receiving free or reduced meal benefits are encouraged to apply today if there has been a change in family income. While not required for the free meals provided during the school closure, benefits extend for the first 30 days of the 2020-21 school year to help families recover financially.
Online applications are available at www.wcsfoodandnutrition.org.
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