Area districts offering meals during school shutdown

AREA- Even as classes are closed at all five public school districts in Grundy County, officials are making arrangements to provide meals during the shutdown and ensure that any student who needs a meal gets fed.

Each district’s plan is slightly unique, but all of them are offering some sort of meal program for the duration of the closure, which is expected to run until at least April 13.

Grundy Center’s meals will be served at the Bethany Presbyterian Church (located at 315 G Avenue) and began yesterday, running through April 10. Parents are required to accompany children to pick up the meals.

“We are so fortunate to have excellent, dedicated workers. The service we offer to families is tremendous,” Grundy Center Superintendent Robert Hughes said. “The wellbeing of the students and the larger community is a high priority. We greatly appreciate all the support and thoughtfulness.”

Dike-New Hartford served its first meals last Thursday, and has set up pickup spots in Dike (the school building), New Hartford (also the school building), Stout (the fire station) and the Dietrich Mobile Home Park along Highway 20. Each day that students come by, they get breakfast for the day following, and adults can purchase meals at a cost of $2 for breakfast and $3 for lunch.

According to foodservice director Angie Callan, D-NH served 122 meals on the first day and 172 on the second day. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact her at angie.callan@dnhcsd.org. She added that the district might mix in some hot meals this week as the program takes off and grows in the future.

At Gladbrook-Reinbeck, meals have been served out of the United Church of Christ in Reinbeck from Monday to Wednesday, and the school is planning to take over as of Thursday. Beginning Thursday, meals will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the UCC in Reinbeck, and Gladbrook meals will be served from the old school building near the fitness center entrance. The AmVets building in Lincoln and the Morris Inn in Morrison will also serve as pickup points from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anyone 18 and under qualifies for the meals, and G-R will also be serving adult meals at the same cost as Dike-New Hartford’s.

BCLUW has established two pickup locations for its meals—one at the elementary school in Conrad and another outside of city hall in Liscomb. Meals will begin on Wednesday, March 25, and can be picked up from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Conrad and from 12:00 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. in Liscomb.

The distributions will include three days worth of food and will be distributed on Mondays and Thursdays after the first week. According to a directive from the district, the meals are not to be eaten on-site, and children who get them will not be allowed to congregate and eat together after picking them up.

AGWSR began serving meals on Monday, March 23, available to any child age 18 and younger, and pickup will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the south kitchen door of the high school in Ackley and the west kitchen door at the Wellsburg center. Carpool rotation pickups are also allowed for families that live further away from the two pickup locations.