EARTHQUAKES
Schools Use Buses To Bring Meals To Children While Classes Are Canceled
Mar 19, 2020, 8:54 PM | Updated: Jun 23, 2022, 11:55 pm
WEST JORDAN, Utah — Many schools resumed their pick-up lunches for students a day after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit the Wasatch Front, using school buses to deliver to as many students as possible.
In an effort to keep children fed while schools are closed, The Jordan School District decided to provide free lunches to students at its elementary schools. So did many other school districts across the state.
School workers know not every child can make it to a school, so the district decided to try something new Thursday.
School buses packed with food were driven to the Villa West Mobile Home Park in West Jordan and the Copperton Park in Copperton.
Close to 100 kids picked up lunches at a special remote set up in West Jordan today. @jordandistrict says they know not all kids can come to school for lunches, so they wanted to bring lunches to them in school buses. In Copperton also. @KSL5TV at 6:30. #coronavirus #ksltv pic.twitter.com/qH1J2iUXfp
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) March 19, 2020
Parents were alerted by the district to be there between 11am and noon.
“The principal himself is here today to greet the kids and welcome them into this program,” said Curtis Hagen, who works with the Jordan School District
Abe Yospe works over Columbia Elementary School in West Jordan. He said he was happy to see nearly a hundred of his students at the Villa West Mobile Home Park get a meal.
“We have a low-income population at our school, and we know many parents can’t be at home right now with their children to give them a meal if they need it,” said Yospe. “So that’s where we step in and we want to make life easier for the parents and for the kids.”
The Jordan School District said it planned on using its school buses to bring lunches to students at Villa West and in Copperton for the foreseeable future, as long as the need is out there. But Jordan isn’t the only district in Utah using its buses for lunches.
“We’ve been taking them on the buses and taking them to the bus stops,” said Jean Liddell, who works with Centennial Elementary School in Roosevelt. “It’s great to see their faces.”
Liddell volunteered to help do the bus runs because she knows kids need food while classes in the Duchesne School District are canceled.
“I never thought that we wouldn’t have school. Ever. I’m old and I have never experienced something like this before. Ever,” she said.
In the Carbon County School District, buses were also used to deliver meals to bus stops.
Buses in the Carbon County School District are also being used to bring students meals while classes are canceled. A bus driver sent me these pictures saying it’s great to see kids smiling. #covid19utah #coronavirus #ksltv pic.twitter.com/Q2wE8hInDQ
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) March 19, 2020
“We have been delivering meals all week. We take the breakfasts and lunches to the bus stops,” said Carbon County Schools bus driver, Cori Swasey. “It’s great to be a bus driver because we get to see the excitement of all of the kids and it’s also helping us by getting a paycheck as well.”
Staff members were also outside the Cedar Valley High School in Eagle Mountain with meals. Students could pick up a breakfast and a lunch at the same time.
“We have plenty. Come and get it,” said a staff worker in one of the school’s Instagram posts.
Schools are doing their best to keep children fed, especially during these concerning times.
“We get into this profession because we want to help children,” said Yospe.
Districts said they plan to continue serving lunches for as long as necessary.
“It’s been a challenge, but we have great teachers and great staff to make it all work out,” said Yospe. “And seeing the children and their smiling faces today makes it all worth it.”
For information on a school near you serving lunch while classes are closed during the coronavirus concerns, the state has put together a map.
Here is a link to a map of where schools are offering lunches for children. https://t.co/4ai1nf8dnw
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) March 19, 2020
