The meals on this bus will go 'round, fight hunger

CHILLICOTHE - This won't be your typical food truck.

But for some of those young people who step onto a converted Chillicothe City Schools bus this summer, it may be the one thing standing between them and a grumbling stomach during the stretch between school years.

The bus will become an integral part of the district's efforts in conjunction with the nonprofit Children's Hunger Alliance to beat back food insecurity during a time of the year when kids who have the opportunity to take advantage of free breakfasts and lunches during the school year suddenly no longer have that option. The idea for the mobile food option originally came from the Children's Hunger Alliance, which reached out to new school food services director Mary Montgomery as she was settling into her new job at the beginning of the school year.

"I was a little timid to take on a new project while still trying to learn what I was supposed to be doing," Montgomery said. "So Jon (Saxton, Chillicothe superintendent) and I went to a meeting General Mills put on in Jackson for Children's Hunger Alliance, they go over food insecurities throughout our area, and they talked about (the bus idea) again, and Jon and I looked at each other and he said, 'Can you do it? You only have a few months,' and I said, 'We can give it a shot.'"

Transportation supervisor Bobbi Lowry provided a full-size school bus with a lift and maintenance supervisor Larry Pritchard figured out what would need to be done to the vehicle to make it virtually a rolling diner for the district's summer meals program.

The work is ongoing, but already one entire side of the bus has been converted into a long lunch counter with bolted-down stools. Along the length of the other side of the bus, some of the seats have been removed, and others turned around in a configuration that, once tables are added, will create a few booth-style seating areas. Toward the back of the vehicle, an area is being prepared that will contain warming and cooling units to keep the food that will be made at Mt. Logan Elementary and offered free to children 18 and younger at the proper temperatures.

Because of state regulations prohibiting a vehicle being used in this way from retaining the color of a traditional school bus, it will take on a wrap that likely will be a bright blue.

Those taking advantage of the free food offerings are required to eat the food on-site, so they can either relax in one of the seats on the bus or on some outdoor seating organizers are planning to bring to each stop.

Some of the logistics of the program still need to be worked out. What is known is that Mt. Logan will be the program's hub, where food for the bus will be prepared and where students can also go for free lunchtime meals. School district officials are trying to get with staff at Ross County Community Action to find out where and when that agency will be offering its food service program so the school program can take that into consideration when setting its times and locations for the bus to visit.

Montgomery said the plan is for the bus to target areas where known food insecurities are high, or where children are less likely to get a healthy lunch — or maybe even a lunch at all — during the summer. The meals provided fall under the same nutritional requirements as lunches during the school year, and Montgomery is hoping to operate the bus from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays.

The district is also in discussions with the Chillicothe and Ross County Public Library to make some library books available on the bus and is looking at trying to get wifi service on board as well.

Exactly when the bus starts making its runs is uncertain, as there is a 30-day Ohio Highway Patrol inspection process once the wrap is placed on the vehicle before it can be put on the roads. Montgomery hopes it will be as close to the start of summer break as possible.

There is no money coming out of the school district's general fund for the bus conversion or the program, Saxton said. The associated costs come from Montgomery's food services budget, federal grants, and donations.