COLDWATER — Coldwater Community Schools provided a record 44,415 student meals this summer, according to Chartwell Dining Services Director Tamara Santora.
The system feeds students under contract with the school district. Chartwell runs the most extensive restaurant system in the county, with 30 staff members in six buildings.
"(The summer program) is based on the saying 'hunger doesn't take a summer break,'" Santora said.
Santora said during June the summer school program served congregate meals for the students at Coldwater High School, Lakeland, Max Larsen, and Jefferson schools in the morning and at lunch.
The Meet and Eat meals were open to anybody who wanted to bring their kids in for breakfast and lunch. At lunch, "You only had a half hour time period at each building that you were allowed to come in, sit down and eat," she explained.
"Unfortunately, many people chose not to because it was too much hassle," she added.
During July and August, the student meals program switched to a weekly drive-thru on Mondays starting at 11:45 a.m. in the Legg Middle School parking lot.
Cars lined up early in the parking lot and south down Western Avenue, sometimes beyond Hatch Avenue.
Anyone responsible for children 18 and under were eligible to ask for a box of meals containing seven breakfasts and seven lunches for each child. The children did not have to be Coldwater Community Schools students.
The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, distributed 38,880 meals in 2023.
The boxes contained shelf-stable items like cereal and cereal bars for breakfast. Also included were hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken patties, pizza, and similar food items.
"We were packaging frozen items with instructions how to properly reheat them," Santora said.
New this year were fresh fruits and vegetables offered in bulk. During various weeks, the food service handed out pints of cherry tomatoes, one-pound bags of carrots, one-pound bags of green beans, one-pound bags of mixed greens, and one-or two-pound bags of zucchini.
In other weeks, the program handed out three-pound bags of apples, and in one week, gave out two large grapefruits.
Santora said, "We were trying to get as much fresh produce into our kids as possible," much of it sourced locally and from around Michigan.
Santora said the program also helps the 10 employees who come in to package the meals during the summer. "They're actually getting at least a partial paycheck during a time when they wouldn't be getting a paycheck."
Subscribe Follow important local stories. Subscribe to the Daily Reporter.
More information on the program can be found on Chartwell's Coldwater Schools Facebook page.
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: 'Hunger doesn't take a summer break': Coldwater Schools and Chartwell keep students fed
Most Popular
Comments / 0