Selah M. Poore
editor@greenepublishing.com
Twenty-two million children across America rely on the two meals they get at school everyday. With the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, schools are shutting down and those children are not receiving the meals that they could be relying on. However, Greenville Elementary School (GES) is doing their part in continuing to feed their children.
The staff of GES began handing out meals to students on Monday, March 23. On that first day, 150 meals were prepared, but not all were handed out. However, on Tuesday, March 24, volunteers gave away 168 meals to students. Iris Wynn, supervisor of food service for the Madison County School District, explained that both breakfast and lunch are being served, but children are picking up both meals together between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The intention is for the children to eat the lunch they picked up on that same day and then breakfast the following morning. The children either walk to the school or they are dropped off, but because the school is strongly trying to enforce the social distancing procedure, children must immediately leave once they have received their food.
Wynn said they plan on handing out meals as long as the schools are shut down. Despite COVID-19, it is a comfort to know that the school is receiving meals from their typical providers; Gordon Food Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, and milk is being provided by Bassetts Dairy. As of right now, GES does not need anymore volunteers, but Wynn said that as this pandemic continues to go on, they expect more and more children to show up, so they do not know if they will be needing more people to volunteer.
In order to do so, Wynn reported one must be on the volunteer list with the school board.