School buses delivering lunches

Ukiah Unified drop-offs began Friday

Some school buses were driving through Ukiah Friday, but they weren’t picking up kids: they were delivering lunches.

“We’ll have two people in each bus, one to drive and one to hop out with the lunches,” saidDebbie Kirby of theUkiahUnified School District’s transportation department, explaining that five buses would be running five routes: one each in Hopland, Talmage and central Ukiah, plus two in Redwood Valley. “We’ll also be driving the smaller buses, so we can turn easier, and will try to have right-side drops only.”

One of the stops was at Cindee Park on South Orchard Avenue, where at least two moms were waiting with their children, who do need to be present at the time of pick-ups, according to UUSD officials.

One of the moms, who preferred not to be identified, said she definitely appreciated that the school district was now delivering

lunches rather than only having them available at school sites, “Since we live right by (this park) and it’s much easier for us to pick them up here.”

She said she learned about the deliveries through

an e-mail from the school district. A full schedule of all the routes, and the approximate times the buses will be at each stop, is on the UUSD website here: https://docs. google.com/spreadsheets/d/ 1Admy tQ5gLKB- uEWp w 8 g EWd 6 B g NmH - WAot eQ _ xbwNcsdU/ edit#gid=1271816824

When the bus arrived, a woman wearing gloves

stepped out and handed plastic bags of lunches to the parents waiting with their kids. The bags Friday contained numerous items that were all individually packaged such as peanuts, sunflower seeds, applesauce, crackers, dry cereal, milk and juice.

Lunches are also available at school campuses from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mon

day through Friday, at Frank Zeek, Grace Hudson, Nokomis, Oak Manor, and Yokayo Elementary Schools. In the Hopland, Calpella, and Eagle Peak areas, the schools are one of the stops on the bus route. Students must be present due to state requirements.

If you have questions about the bus schedule, call 707- 472-5090.

JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN — UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL The Ukiah Unified School District Friday began delivering lunches at stops across the Ukiah Valley, including Cindee Park on South Orchard Avenue.