Student Evan Haines smiles as he hands Edison Elementary Kitchen Staff Member Christa Freeborn flowers while his brother Ian and mother Jillian look on last March in Centralia.
Edison Elementary Kitchen Staff Members Claudia Anaya and Christa Freeborn smile and take a selfie with flowers given to them by a student Friday afternoon in Centralia.
Edison Elementary Kitchen Staff Member Christa Freeborn holds up a card placed in every kids' meal Friday afternoon in Centralia.
Student Ian Haines grabs bagged meals at Edison Elementary while accompanied by his brother Evan and mother Jillian Friday last March Centralia.
Free breakfast and lunch are delivered to kids in Oakville.
A Centralia School District Employee shows off two thank-you notes from students this week.
A student hands a Centralia School District Employee a thank-you card this week.
Centralia School District began handing out free lunches at its schools this week.
Free breakfast and lunch are delivered to kids in Oakville last month.
Washington state is requiring school districts to have free meals available for children in the community that are ages 18 and younger and the local districts are complying by having breakfast and lunches available for pick up or delivered on school bus routes.
Centralia School District is handing out meals that include lunch and breakfast for the next morning from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at all five of the district’s elementary schools Monday through Friday.
“If a kid shows up and they’re under 18, we are going to feed them. … We’re looking to expand that as well. If demand grows we’ll look for ways to get more food out there,” said Ed Petersen, Centralia School District communications and public relations coordinator.
The district has been averaging about 500 lunches a day and handed out 419 breakfasts on the first day. On Thursday the lunches included a turkey sandwich, broccoli, an apple and milk. Breakfast is usually a cereal bar, milk and fruit.
“Almost 80 percent— 79.4 percent of our kids come from a low-income family so it just makes sense. We absolutely do want to keep doing this because we know that resources are strained during normal times for a lot of families and this just doesn’t help,” said Petersen.
They are not having a large influx of people at any of the elementary schools at any one time so it’s been easy to stick to social distancing guidelines. They are also serving the food outside and not eating on sight, Petersen said.
“Basically the kiddos get out of the car, come get their lunch and breakfast and then go home so we aren’t seeing any large gatherings or people lining up,” said Petersen.
Petersen said they are seeing all ages of kids, mostly elementary school students but there are some middle and high school students as well.
“We will keep offering these meals as long as we are closed. We normally offer some sort of meal plan over summer break, there’s no indication that this is going to last that long but if it did we would have some sort of plan in place,” said Petersen.
The Chehalis School District will begin handing out free breakfast and lunch on Monday, March 23.
“It is a difficult time and when we have a difficult time we tend to join together— county, community, parents, teachers, school districts— and this is just the right thing to do for our children,” said Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin.
Oakville School District is loading the meals on a van and two buses that will be driving separate routes and delivering them to anyone 18 and younger along their school bus routes so the meal recipients don’t have to go far from their home. Anyone 18 and younger can get a meal— they do not have to be Oakville students.
Locations
Centralia
Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary, Edison Elementary, Oakview Elementary, Fords Prairie Elementary, and Washington Elementary from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Chehalis
Chehalis Middle School at 1060 SW 20th Street or the Chehalis Bus Garage at 261 SW 3rd Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Oakville
Along the Oakville bus routes. More information on the meal drop off locations can be found on the district’s Facebook page. The buses and van will begin their routes at 10:30 a.m. and conclude at about 12:30 p.m.
Adna
Lunch and breakfast will be available from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at the middle/high school. The meals will also be delivered on a bus route. Find more information on the bus route on the Adna School District’s website.
Napavine
Free meals will be provided if it is requested. There is a “Food Service Request” form on the district’s website. Meal delivery or pick up will begin on Monday, March 23. Anyone ages 18 and under are eligible. Request form— https://docs.google.com/forms/d/
