Today, North East ISD served its one-millionth grab-and-go meal since campuses closed on March 16. 1,139,749 meals to be exact. It’s been a massive, constantly-changing mission to make sure any child in our community could still get a meal despite not being allowed back on campus.
“Each week, something has needed to change based on new government regulations, health/safety guidelines, or supply shortages,” said Sharon Glosson, Executive Director of School Nutrition Services.
“We’ve overcome the challenges because we have an amazing team of employees that are 100% committed to feeding the children in our community.”
Many children don’t just rely on school for learning; they rely on the counselors, they rely on the nurses, and they rely on the meals. While some students celebrated “extended spring break,” others worried where their next meal was coming from. Thankfully, NEISD’s School Nutrition Services team was already working on a plan to keep them fed.
“We know that almost half of our students depend on school meals for the majority of their nutrition during the day,” said Glosson. “School closures threatened the food access for these children. The NEISD meal program took one worry off of parents’ minds since they knew that their children would be provided with nutritious meals.”
It started with curbside pick-up. Kids were given lunch for that day and breakfast for the next. While that helped fill some needs, the team realized that not every student had a way to get to school to pick up those meals. The program evolved to help make sure more students were fed. Snack Packs were included for weekends. To-go dinners were also put together for kids. Then, School Nutrition Services started working with the Transportation Department to start delivering meals to students.
“The biggest challenge has been staying open to constant change throughout our program,” said Glosson. “I can’t say enough about the leadership of our area supervisors and cafeteria managers.”
This team has stayed ahead of the curve, delivering more meals to the community than any other district in our area. And the mission isn’t over yet.
“It’s hard to believe that we are at 1,000,000 meals in less than two months! It feels good to know that we are making a difference for so many families in this area,” said Glosson.
Friday, May 1, is School Nutrition Hero Day. The timing is not lost on Glosson.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we are hitting the 1,000,000 meal milestone at the same time. Each employee that works in school foodservice is a hero. They are choosing to put the needs of others above their own comfort. Feeding children is not just a job; it’s a passion for them. The success of our program is a testimony to their dedication and hard work every day.”
