School nutrition staff feeds children in the Baldwin County Community this summer

Published 1:30 pm Thursday, June 18, 2020

Despite the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Baldwin County School Nutrition Department has been committed to providing healthy, nutritious meals to children and their families. 

This commitment continues throughout the summer months with the school district’s Seamless Summer Meal Program and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box initiative.

When Baldwin County schools closed March 16 due to health precautions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district’s nutrition department was faced with the challenge of creating alternative methods to provide meals to children. As a result they implemented the summer meal program, which operates through a delivery and on-site distribution process. Because of this resourcefulness, the school nutrition department was able to serve 212,708 meals from March 17 through May 29.

“Our school nutrition department, transportation department and all of our volunteers have certainly gone above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic and the numbers definitely show the results of their dedication, commitment, hard work and courage. This was an incredible feat and a success for both the school district and students during these uncertain times. The Baldwin County School District commends these individuals for their efforts in overcoming the challenges brought on by the coronavirus outbreak to feed the children of the Baldwin County community,” said Superintendent Dr. Noris Price. 

On June 1, the BCSD School Nutrition Department, once again, started the Seamless Summer meal program designed to provide local children with nutritious meals during the summer months. The Seamless Summer Meals program is operated on Mondays and Wednesdays only, but in between the two days, children can pick up meals that will last them the entire week. Buses from the Baldwin County School Transportation Department run five bus routes within the area, making stops at designated neighborhoods and housing authority locations in an effort to be accessible to as many children as possible. Pickup sites are in the following locations: Baldwin High School,  Midway Hills Academy, the Mary Vinson Memorial Library, the Collin P. Lee Center, and the Boys & Girls Club. The summer meal program is open to all children in Baldwin County and eligible students do not have to be part of the Baldwin County School District.

Another way in which the school nutrition department is helping families in need is through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box initiative. This program is part of the USDA’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need. Through this program, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) partners with national, regional and local suppliers, whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses, to purchase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products.

Thus far, the program has been a great success. On June 3, school nutrition department staff and volunteers held their first food box distribution session. One thousand boxes of fresh produce were given out that day to area families and on June 11, they distributed more than 1,700 boxes of produce. The distribution site is located in the back parking lot of Lakeview Academy. Distribution of food boxes take place every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon from now through Aug. 26. Anyone arriving to pick up a food box must wear a mask and practice social distancing to ensure safety for everyone.

“These meals and produce boxes are for anyone in Baldwin County; anyone is eligible. They don’t have to be any certain age or show any ID. It’s just another way for us to help families right now,” said Susan Nelson, director of the school nutrition department.

Volunteers are always welcomed and their time is greatly appreciated. Any community organizations interested in volunteering to assist with the Farmers to Families program are encouraged to email Susan Nelson at susan.nelson@baldwin.k12.ga.us.