Hundreds of public school parents like Edwin Sierra came to school on the first day of spring break to enable their families to continue partaking of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60’s breakfast, lunch, and after-school snack program during vacation.
Though class is not in session this week, the District decided to make the free meals all students get during the school day available. Serra, who is the father of a preschooler, third grader and high school junior, said the food availability is important to families.
“It’s awesome,” Sierra said. “It’s a great relief to a lot of families who want to give their children three square meals every day. This program takes a lot of stress off families.”
A pair of volunteers pack meals. (Steve Sadin/Lake County News-Sun)
School personnel volunteered their time to place 5,370 meals plus snacks in 537 boxes in the vehicles of District 60 families Monday at the Waukegan High School Brookside Campus providing them with meals they normally receive at school during the week.
Alicia Williams, the district’s manager of transportation and child nutrition, said the district wanted to continue the free breakfast, lunch and snack program during spring break so student nutrition remains at a high level over vacation.
“There are those in the community with real food insecurity,” Williams said. “We want to continue to give this opportunity to our students as part of our food service program. They get breakfast, lunch and snacks when they’re here for after-school programs.”
All District 60 students receive breakfast, lunch and snacks because at least 60% or more of the students qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Program. In District 60, 68% of the families are at or below the poverty level.
Sierra said the ability to use the meals for breakfast and lunch enables families to concentrate on preparing a nutritious dinner. Tony Morales, who has children in preschool, third, and fifth grade, said it helps his family and others.
Volunteers put a box of meals for a week in a vehicle Monday at the Waukegan High School Brookside Campus. (Steve Sadin/Lake County News-Sun)
“It helps families and their kids with snacks and meals,” Morales said. “It is a big help to parents when their kids are out of school.”
Before the families started arriving, a team of volunteers from the district and Sodexo — District 60’s food service provider — began to sort the nonperishable food and place it in boxes.
Ros Harrison, the district’s pre-kindergarten manager, was one of the volunteers. A Waukegan native and Waukegan High School graduate, she said she raised her now-grown children as a single mother. She knows firsthand the pressure families can feel during a school vacation.
“I love doing this,” Harrison said.”Outreach is my passion. This takes a lot of stress off parents. It’s a relief for parents to know their kids are going to get these meals to eat. The families need it.”
Once the boxes are packed with ten meals and snacks, volunteers take them outside where more helpers load them in the hundreds of cars that came through the parking lot. Some had their children with them.
Cars line up for a spring break food distribution. (Steve Sadin/Lake County News-Sun)
Though the free breakfast and lunch program has been part of the Waukegan schools for 10 years, Williams said when classes went remote in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the meals were made available throughout the community.
Put on buses several days a week, families could get boxes of meals at regular school bus stops at designated times. Williams said it continues now during spring break and she hopes it will expand in the future. Harrison was a volunteer then too.
“I remember being on the buses and seeing the families then,” Harrison said referring to the time school was remote during the pandemic. “The families really needed it.”
During four weeks of summer school, Williams said students receive free breakfast and lunch then. Those not enrolled can get the same meals packed in boxes at any of the buildings holding summer classes. She hopes to make meals available during winter break next year
