Leon County Schools launches meal delivery program to feed hungry students

Hungry students learning from home will soon need to just walk to the nearest bus stop for a meal. 

Leon County Schools is launching a grab-and-go curbside and meal delivery program; it continues a summer food service partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The district announced the latest program at a Tuesday morning launch. 

The program is supported by the six buses running from Fairview Middle School on Zillah Street near Tram Road in south Tallahassee.

District officials say they hope the meal service will specifically help families in the 32304 and 32305 ZIP codes — home of Bond and Pineview elementary schools, Frank Nims Middle School and James S. Rickards High School.

But food kits are available to all families in Leon County with children 18 years and younger. Children do not need to specifically attend school in the district. 

Families may pick up breakfasts and lunches from the curbside takeaway at Fairview Middle School from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or wait at bus stops starting at 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Locations of all bus stops are on the district's website at www.LeonSchools.Net. District administrators say buses will follow COVID-19 safety protocols while handling and delivering meal kits. 

“Just to kind of get our feet wet, we started off with one school," said Christina Walker, project manager in the district's nutrition services department. “But it is for the community … you can get a meal for your child." She added the USDA-supported program is continuing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Local education officials chose the Fairview area based on the number of students enrolled in Digital Academies and the logistics of beginning the pilot program, district spokesman Chris Petley said.

According to data collected before the start of school, 58% of students at Bond, 65% at Pineview, 71% at Fairview, 64% at Nims and 57% of students at Rickards opted for their school's Digital Academy in the first nine weeks of school. That translates to 2,298 students learning from home. 

Fairview has a newly-renovated cafeteria. School bus drivers will see over the next few weeks whether they're able to do morning pickups and the food runs on schedule, Petley added. 

He said the program will be a success if families or students are waiting at bus stops for meals, which is a matter of getting the word out about the new program. 

Each of the buses carries 100 meals. If buses return with leftover meal kits, the food will be repurposed at the school for the next day since it has a one-day shelf life, Walker said. After that, expired food will be thrown out. 

The meal kits for breakfast and lunch follow national nutrition guidelines that include small milk cartons, a grain, fruit and other foods, Walker said. The district will recoup the monies spent on the food kits from the USDA. Based on national reimbursement rates, breakfasts cost $2.37 each and lunches cost $4.15.  

“We know there are students at home right now that are in dire need of nutritious meals," Superintendent Rocky Hanna said in a video posted online when the district announced the program. “If you live in Leon County and are under the age of 18, we are committed to providing you food you can take home to your family." 

Tori Lynn Schneider contributed. CD Davidson-Hiers is an education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her at 850-631-0958, or CDavidsonH@Tallahassee.com. Twitter: @DavidsonHiers. 

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