It’s all about the food
Lunch lady superheroes Jill Smith and Lisa Garrison work together in the high school commons to assemble meals for kids who need them while school is cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo courtesy Kevin Upton
When school was cancelled as of the end of the day on March 13, Manchester Community Schools’ Food Service Staff had no time to rest on their laurels. They still had kids to feed.
“Our motto in Food Services is, ‘It’s all about the food’,” explained Lisa Garrison. “That’s what we are here for … to feed these kids. And that’s what we will continue to do, for as long as this lasts.”
Following government guidelines for its summer feeding program, the MCS food service staff set to work within 24 hours to create a plan for two complete meals a day for every child under 18 years of age in the district (as requested), and those with special needs up to age 26.
Every child under 18 qualifies for these free meals. They don’t have to be enrolled in school or preschool; there are no income requirements or other strings attached. It’s free.
“It is a government-funded program, and it’s reimbursable to us,” Garrison explained. “We are preparing cold meals for three days at a time, and we are proud of the job we are doing.”
The first day, Tuesday, March 17, the crew served 91 kids–two meals (breakfast and lunch) for three days each. That’s 546 meals. By Friday, March 20, when they sent out meals for four days at a time, the total had reached 1,744 meals. This coming Tuesday, they are planning for 2,100 or more meals, including gluten-free ingredients if requested.
“I was able to score on Saturday in getting gluten free food for the students,” Garrison added. “We want to make sure we can accommodate those and other food allergies in our meals.”
Parents can sign up their kids on the MCS website, or by emailing schoolclosuremeals@mcs.k12.mi.us. You can also call 734-428-7333, ext. 1120. Although people can drive up and be served, it is preferable if you call or sign up ahead of time so the “lunch ladies” know how many meals to prepare. “We don’t want to run out,” Garrison said. “We want to be able to feed everyone who shows up.”
Interim Superintendent Kevin Upton was effusive in praising the work of the MCS food service staff to feed local families. “They deserve any accolades I can help to direct towards them right now,” he said. “They are doing an amazing job.”
Pick up is held each Tuesday and Friday, in the bus drive in front of Manchester Junior/Senior High School, but home delivery is also available, and Garrison said that will be expanded utilizing volunteer helpers, if there is a need for more home deliveries. “We can do no-contact drop offs,” she said. “We are trying to keep everyone safe. We’ve had so many people offer their help, and that is wonderful, but for as long as we can we just want to keep it in our group, to stay safe. We take our temperatures every morning before we come in.”
Garrison calls her staff “my lunch lady super-heroes,” adding that they could be getting paid whether they are sitting at home or working on this, “and they choose to come in,” she says. “These are amazing women who have done this for a long time: Sue DeSautel, Jill Smith, Karen Lorincz, Tamra Belaire, Lynette Clark, Dee Teresky.” And Garrison herself has been working with Chartwell’s, the food service provider, for more than a decade.
The community feedback on this program has been gratifying for these super heroes, too. “We are so proud with what we have been able to accomplish,” Garrison said. “Everything is going pretty seamlessly; we are learning every day how to make this work even better. The kids are loving getting the meals–it feels familiar to them and it’s a bright moment in their day.
“It’s such a beautiful thing.”
Lunches packed, ready for distribution! Photo courtesy Lisa Garrison
Jill Smith making sandwiches in the kitchen. Photo courtesy Lisa Garrison
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