Emergency food program provides thousands of meals

“Serving up happy and healthy” is the motto of Chartwells K12, the food service that runs the Holyoke school kitchen, and it’s something that Holyoke food service staff members have lived every day for the past several months.

Beginning with the school district’s extended spring break March 23 and running through Aug. 16, Holyoke food service staff served 28,523 meals to children age 1-18 in Holyoke during an emergency feeding program.

The program developed in response to changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and in an effort to ensure no child goes hungry.

Holyoke food service staff packed hot meals and food that could be heated at children’s homes for later meals.

For the duration of the program, staff members served food in front of Holyoke Elementary School Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and they also packed meals on Fridays to be eaten on the weekends.

Assistant Food Service Director Heather Tanner is proud of the impact this program has had on the community.

“Our mission is that we’re here for the kids,” she said. “We do whatever we can to keep kids fed. It was nice to know that we were out there providing food to families in need.”

She added that the whole team’s hard work and dedication made a difference in children’s lives, and that each staff member was there to do what was best for the children throughout the pandemic.

Superintendent Kyle Stumpf  said food service and administration staff pulled together to deliver meals to local day cares and trailer parks to serve as many community children as possible.

Elementary Principal Andrea Kammer, Brenda Krueger, Joan Price and elementary paraprofessional Erin Lindholm joined Stumpf in delivering the meals to the day cares and trailer parks.

Stumpf said Fridays involved dividing delivery duties, since these deliveries included both breakfast and lunch for Friday and both weekend days.

Stumpf went on to point out that it was a great feeling to see the kids get excited when the deliveries arrived. “It was a way for us to give back to the community,” he said. “To provide the meals to families in need was a great way to say thank you.”

Stumpf added that the USDA extended the program through the end of 2020, and while the logistics still need to be worked out, he is hopeful about continuing the program to support the community.