Tag: Meals

As School Year Ends, State Prepares For Summer Feeding

The summer months between school years can be a time of uncertainty for students and families that rely on school meals.

Memorial Day is traditionally considered the start of the summer season. School may be out, but hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation.

All but five of West Virginia’s 55 counties provide free breakfast and lunch during the school year to all students, regardless of household income. 

The Summer Food Service Program ensures children don’t go hungry while school is out.

Most feeding sites are sponsored by local boards of education, but other community organizations including churches and nonprofits can also sign up to sponsor locations.

In an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Cybele Boehm, coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Child Nutrition, said that applications are still being approved. 

“We currently have 422 sites approved to operate,” she said. “We expect around 20 additional sponsoring organizations, so we may reach 450-500 feeding sites.”

Free meals, either breakfast, lunch or both, depending on the site, are open to all children under 18.

“Last year, over 3.2 million meals were served to children in our state, and we are hoping this number increases,” Boehm said. 

She said communities can find feeding sites near them by texting “food” to 304-304 and typing their address or zip code. Locations can also be found online via the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Find Meals For Kids” portal.

Jefferson County Schools Enter ‘Total Shutdown,’ Officials Say Students Will Still Be Fed

Jefferson County Schools have entered a Stage 3 closure as of Monday, March 23, meaning a total shutdown of school campuses and no staff are to report to work. The county’s superintendent made the announcement on their website last week. 

Officials say the decision for a total shutdown is, in large part,  due to Jefferson County being the first county in West Virginia to see a confirmed case of coronavirus.

“We take the safety of our students, our staff and our community very seriously,” said Joyce White, Jefferson County Schools deputy superintendent for operations and acting director of safety. “So the fact that the first confirmed case was in fact in Jefferson County, we wanted to practice social distancing at its very highest level.”

But despite the total shutdown, White said they’ll still be doing everything they can to feed the district’s 9,000 enrolled students.

“We will use volunteers, and we still have the volunteers that will be able to see us through … [and] we want to reassure our families that we will be communicating with them,” she said.

White said, with the help from a community feeding program called Kidz Power Pacs, Jefferson County provided 500 families enough meals to last at least two and a half weeks during this closure. 

White said meals will still be provided to any who stop by their pick up locations. They will also be delivering some meals.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep going for as long as we can safely do so. After that, we will partner with other local agencies, such as Homeland Security here in Jefferson County, in order to continue to make sure people get fed,” she said.

According to White, Jefferson County staff are still being paid during the Stage 3, total shutdown and have been offered telecommuting options to work from home.

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