Community thankful for NEISD meal delivery drivers

In a busy kitchen at MacArthur High School, a dedicated crew is preparing, bagging and loading meals to-go onto North East ISD Fresh Express buses.

The buses, like the one driven by Reanne Stringer, deliver free breakfast and lunches to children across various neighborhoods.

“I have five stops; some stops are quite full and have quite a few students,” she said.

Stringer has been with NEISD for twenty years and normally trains new bus drivers but after the schools started closing, she stepped in to drive the buses too.

“All the full-time staff is doing the transportation of the food. We’ve got dispatchers, routers, trainers and supervisors. We are the ones driving to all the stops and locations on the buses,” she explained.

She said she is overwhelmed and happy to be able to bring the food to the children’s’ homes because many are unable to travel to the school feeding sites to pick up the curbside meals.

The smiles make all of the hard work and preparation worth it.

Five-year-old Sharneice Garrison received chicken fingers, apples, juice and milk in her lunch bag.

“I’m ready every day at 11:12,” she explained after singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ song.

“This makes my day; this is exciting and fun to see the kids. They are happy to get their lunches; it’s a great day,” Reanne said.

The nutritious meals are available Monday through Friday to anyone who needs it.

Now, parents can also pick up the meals without their kids when they bring one of three forms of documentation of one of the following:

-A child’s birth certificate (born 2001-present)

-A student report card (does not have to be NEISD)

-A student ID card (does not have to be NEISD)

“They don’t have to be present but they have to show proof like a report card or anything that’s proof that they have the child. They don’t have to be in the school district even; we’ll feed all children 18 and under,” Stringer explained.

Pre-k student Camilla Gutierrez was also excited to get her lunch.

“I got chocolate milk and apples,” the five-year-old said.

“The parents have been so grateful and nice when we come up. They are getting know us on a regular basis saying ‘hey, good morning,’ and that’s nice. The kids want to hug you and you just want to give them a hug but you can’t,” Stringer added.

The community is still coming together, even when they can’t be together because #NEISDcares!

“We all need to help each other; we all need to be there and step up to do whatever we can to help each other. Whatever it may be and whatever little bit you can do to help everyone around so we can get through this,” Reanne said.

For more information about the Fresh Express bus, to view the menu, or for more instructions about picking up a meal without a child present, click here: https://www.neisd.net/site/default.aspx?pagetype=3&domainid=4&moduleinstanceid=21391&viewid=6446ee88-d30c-497e-9316-3f8874b3e108&renderloc=0&flexdataid=144140&pageid=1

For more information on North East ISD School Nutrition Services, click here: https://www.neisd.net/Page/273