K-12 foodservices take on Mother Nature

As schools become more attuned to the needs of food-insecure children, K-12 foodservice operations are keeping their stoves fired up come rain, snow, sleet or hail. When a blizzard hit the East Coast last month, several districts served both breakfast and lunch while the schools were closed, and Philadelphia’s City Council has proposed offering a meal program during future winter closures.

However, churning out meals during a snow day stretches resources, forcing operators to outfox Mother Nature.

During last month’s winter storm, District of Columbia Public Schools foodservice staff served meals from 10 a.m. to noon despite school closures. The weekend before the storm hit, Rob Jaber, the district’s director of food and nutrition services, sent the call out to his team. Staff members walked or got rides from the security team in four-wheel drive vehicles. Jaber also received permission to dispatch Humvees to escort employees to feeding sites. The team rallied to feed a district where more than 75 percent of students qualify for free and reduced meals.

“We just were like, ‘We need to do this,’” Jaber says. “The staff was so jazzed to be a part of it. They said it was the first time they felt like they were a critical component in the city.”

Foodservice employees congregated at 10 sites within areas that had a high concentration of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. Volunteers from the mayor’s office helped make up for staff shortfalls. The schools served whatever they had on hand, from Korean chicken to pizza. In two days, DCPS served over 1,500 meals.  

The School District of Lancaster in Pennsylvania also served meals while classrooms stayed dark for three consecutive days. Even under normal conditions, all students in the district receive free lunch and breakfast. “The kids were so hungry, they were ripping open bags before they left the building,” says the Matthew Przywara, the district’s chief financial and operations officer.

The district has 22 sites, and two high schools were in charge of all the food prep. “The schools’ satellite format eased food distribution during the snowstorm because we had a lot of prepackaged food on-site,” Przywara says. The school offered grab-and-go packages at the more centrally located elementary sites, which included graham crackers, prepackaged PB&J sandwiches, fruit containers and fruit drinks.

On day two, schools had already planned to serve Subway sandwiches, so volunteers picked off the lettuce and tomatoes to prevent sogginess. To supplement the grab-and-go bags and sandwiches, the Giant Food supermarket chain and Auntie Anne’s pretzel operation donated food and supplies.

Przywara posted one foodservice staffer at all facilities except the prep sites, then rounded up about 70 volunteers from the administration and teaching staff to help pass out the food.

Now that his team has proven it can operate successfully on snow days, Przywara hopes to partner more with local businesses and serve warm meals. “You just have to sit down and have an action plan for the future,” he says.