Today, in seeking some positivity, I want to take a moment to highlight Chehalis School District’s efforts to serve two meals daily within their district. Of course, school districts across the state and nation are participating in programs like this, too, but as a Chehalis resident with kids in Chehalis, I’m going to speak directly about our own school district.
My focusing on Chehalis is certainly not to minimize any other local efforts, it’s just my first-hand experience with my own children in our immediate community. Many districts in our county are rising to the occasion to feed kids in incredible ways and I hope others continue to highlight those programs as well.
When I first saw the posts and notices from Chehalis School District about our own local program, I wasn’t sure our family was qualified to participate. I asked around. Talked with educators and administrators. In case it hasn’t been clear to you either: Yes. Every child, in any school district, can get meals for free.
According to the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction: “Many students rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. Additionally, as this outbreak begins to impact the economic environment, we know more families may find themselves needing assistance. During these school closures, school districts may provide breakfast and lunch to any student, regardless of their family income, at the location(s) designated by the district.”
Yes. Any child. Regardless of income. Regardless of need. Even if they aren’t enrolled in school. No questions asked.
Now, I usually send lunches to school with my oldest son. His favorite: Good ol’ PBJ. But as the panic surrounding COVID-19 set in, it became harder and harder to find loaves of bread (and there ain’t a bag of flour to be had either, if you’re old school). At times, peanut butter supplies were decimated locally in the past week or two. I started to wonder if picking up meals from school would help us keep our existing bread in the freezer for longer.
And then, my oldest started talking about missing school. Missing his friends. And, I think, missing his routine, too. Only being 6-years-old while this is going on is tough. Difficult to understand and difficult to explain. So, after some discussion — and verifying the meal program was, in fact, for everyone — we decided to commit to daily lunch (and breakfast) pick-up.
We decided that meal pick-up would be a great, daily thing to break up our day. It would give us a reason to get up, get dressed, and get some socially distant social interaction. Mental health-wise, this seemed like a good move to keep our two boys connected to their largest community outside immediate family — those connections matter.
Monday, the first day we pulled up at Chehalis Middle School (one of two designated pickup points in Chehalis), my almost 4-year-old and 6-year-old lit up with the brightest smiles they had both had in days when they saw familiar faces. One teacher yelled my oldest son’s name out across the parking lot. He waved excitedly back. Calls of “we miss you” could be heard coming from cars rolling up.
Chehalis staff put two brown paper bags with lunch and two brown paper bags with breakfast for the next day right on my passenger seat through the window. They then asked me if I had any other children at home who needed meals. I thought it was exceptionally thoughtful of them to ask.
The first day’s lunch was a hot chicken sandwich — affectionately known as a “chicken nugget sandwich” in our house — with a whole apple, bag of baby carrots, and a half-pint of chocolate milk. Breakfast for the next day was cold cereal, fruit, and milk. Breakfast another day included a chocolate muffin and an orange with apple juice.
As parents, we know when kids are home that they really hit the snacks hard. So these simple food items are, one, making our current grocery stock last longer and, two, allow us to make fewer trips to the grocery store in a time when limited interaction is key. Both of those points are budget-friendly and health-forward for any local family, regardless of tax bracket.
If you live in Lewis County, and are able to get out for meal pickups, I encourage you to look into and utilize this option in your own local school district. Please note that in some districts, you are required to have children present to receive meals, either by pickup or school bus delivery, but in other districts, that is not a requirement.
Thank you, Chehalis School District. We are working through our homework packets and are excited to pick up our meals every weekday. We miss you all.
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Brittany Voie is a columnist for The Chronicle. She lives south of Chehalis with her husband and two young sons. She welcomes correspondence from the community at voiedevelopment@comcast.net.
