GREENFIELD — It was a bitterly cold day, but more than a half dozen cafeteria workers from Weston Elementary School stood outside for 90 minutes earlier this week handing out hundreds of grab-and-go meal kits to families in need of a little assistance during these uncertain times.
The school was one of five Greenfield-Central schools where a total of more than 800 meal kits were distributed that day, totaling 8,000 meals.
The pre-packaged meal kits each contained five days’ worth of food — five breakfasts and five lunches — with things typically found in school lunches, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, muffins, string cheese, milk and lots of fruit.
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Donna Miles, the school’s cafeteria manager, said the giveaway was a way to support families in need while providing a bit of normalcy in a far-from-normal situation for kids. “We’re all in this together,” she said, as car after car pulled through the pickup line on Monday, March 23.
Katie Sanford pulled up with her fourth-grade daughter and another family’s three children, who she knew could use the extra help.
“They are one of the families who when school is not in session, it’s hard to come up with three meals a day, so I really wanted to get them over here,” she said.
The fast-changing pandemic restrictions are especially tough on families who struggle with coming up with enough food for their kids when they’re not in school, Sanford said.
“You throw in struggling to come up with child care and maybe working fewer hours, and it’s all pretty hard on some people. I wanted to do everything I could to help make sure they have some food at home,” she said.
Those manning the line at Weston Elementary broke out in smiles as a little boy in Sanford’s minivan rolled down his window and shouted, “This is the best day ever!”
Sanford laughed and said she thinks the kids were as excited about the food as they were getting out of the house for a while and seeing some friendly faces other than their family.
When Greenfield dad James McElroy drove through the pickup line, his 6-year-old son Ian was elated to see his meal kit came with his beloved Zee Zees applesauce, the kind they serve at school.
“When he saw there was Zee Zees, he got really excited,” said McElroy, who heard about the food giveaway through Facebook and an email to Weston parents.
He praised the school corporation for their generosity, and thought the food giveaway was great for both families and for kids craving the comfort of the same foods they enjoy at school.
“We had gone to the grocery store a couple of times, and honestly there wasn’t much in the way of things he would eat,” McElroy said.
Megan Thompson, director of elementary education for the Greenfield-Central School Corporation, said she was heartened see the kids so happy to be receiving their meal kits on Monday.
She anticipates that the longer the pandemic effects grip the nation, the more families will be in need.
“Food scarcity is an issue across the country and the globe. But right now there are people experiencing food scarcity that never have before, because the grocery shelves are bare,” she said.
The percentage of students on the free and reduced-price lunch program is a barometer for hunger. Greenfield-Central has the highest percentage of students in the county participating in the federal program, at nearly 35 percent.
School administrators hope to continue the weekly food distribution for as long as schools remain closed, which for now is slated to be May 1.
“Right now we’re giving away food that would have been served next week in school, but we’re preparing to support this program for as long as necessary,” said Jim Bever, the corporation’s director of student services.
“We don’t know the amount of actual need right now, which is the most concerning thing. There are an awful lot of people who have no income right now,” he said.
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Jim Bever, Greenfield-Central’s director of student services, said plans are now under way for next week’s food giveaway, and he encouraged families to check Greenfield-Central school emails and social media sites for the latest details.
Meals are available for all children 18 and under who can eat table food. Children must be present to receive a meal kit, but do not need to be students at Greenfield-Central schools. A limited number of allergen-sensitive kits are available by request.
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