3 school districts end grab-and-go meals after staff test positive for COVID-19

Three school districts have stopped offering grab-and-go meals after someone on their nutrition team tested positive for COVID-19. 

St. Helena Parish School District in Greensburg, La., and St. James Paris Schools in Lutcher, La., have both stopped meal service after learning that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, according to The Advocate. And Chalkbeat has reported that Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tenn., is no longer serving meals this week after a member of the nutrition team also tested positive for COVID-19. 

Shelby County says the infected staff member did not handle food but is shutting down its meal service out of an abundance of caution. The district is now reaching out to local churches and food pantries to see if they can help provide meals for kids. 

Staff safety during grab-and-go meal service is a major concern for K-12 operators, according to a survey conducted by the School Nutrition Association. Some school districts have switched over to only providing home meal deliveries to limit the amount of face-to-face interaction between staff and students and their families.