Decatur schools deliver free meals to students

DECATUR — The Decatur school system has provided free breakfasts and lunches to students who cannot afford a meal. Many of these students would go hungry throughout the day if not for the services provided by the National School Lunch Program. With the nation in lockdown and schools closed for an uncertain amount of time, students in Decatur found themselves without the free meal program.

But administrators and staff found a solution that brought breakfast and lunch to the students stuck at home.

Margo Barnes, food service manager for the Decatur School District, brought a few classified employees together to help assemble breakfast and lunch boxes and worked out a delivery system using two district vans and a minibus.

In the high school cafeteria kitchen, Barnes and her crew assemble meals, including milk, orange juice, cheese sticks, peanut butter sandwiches, salads and other foods provided by the NSLP.

Once these meals are assembled and boxed, they are loaded onto the transport vehicles and sent out to their distribution points in Decatur.

The lunch program runs

Monday through Thursday while the schools are closed.

Parents or students can also pick up breakfasts or lunches at the high school cafeteria Monday through Thursday from 9-9:30 a.m. for breakfast and noon to 12:30 p.m. for lunch.

School officials ask that only one family member pick up the family’s meals.

For more information on the Decatur School District covid-19 response, go to decatursd.com.

What follows is the delivery schedule and location for the Decatur NSLP program:

Panda Bus/ White Van #1 Grant Springs Apartments 11-11:30 a.m.

Grant Springs Housing 11:35-11:55 a.m. Austin St. 12-12:30 p.m. Meadow Brook Apartments 12:35-12:50 p.m.

Rabbit Bus/Gold Van Maple St. 11-11:10 a.m. Hill St. 11:15-11:30 a.m.

Pool St. 11:35-11:55 a.m. 2nd St. 12-12:20 p.m.

Horse Bus/Minibus Miller Apartments 1111:30 a.m.

Bethlehem Church 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Tilly Hill and Little John Roads 12:25-12:40 p.m.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Several workers assemble breakfast and lunch meals in the cafeteria kitchen at Decatur High School April 2 for the free school lunch program. With schools closed, the district administrators decided to send out the minibus and two vans to distribute the meals to students enrolled in the program. MIKE ECKELS meckels@nwadg.com

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Desirea Montano hands breakfast and lunch boxes to a Decatur Middle School student April 2 during the district’s free lunch program distribution near the Grant Springs Apartments in Decatur.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Sandy Duncan takes a load of breakfast and lunch boxes to a waiting bus on April 2 near the high school cafeteria in Decatur. Duncan and several other classified employees deliver meals to Decatur students who take part in the district’s free lunch program.