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player ready...In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Kaneland School District 302 used school buses recently to distribute school lunches and snacks to families in need across the district.
Staff members including principals and directors along with school bus drivers set out at designated times last Friday to make it convenient for families to pick-up a weekend food package for their children as the state and federal government take measures to contain the coronavirus.
The district has six schools across 140 square miles in southwestern Kane County, including parts of Aurora, North Aurora, Elburn, Sugar Grove and Maple Park.
Kaneland Blackberry Creek Elementary Principal Martne McCoy and Director of Special Education Fran Eggleston were at stops in Elburn, including the Walgreen’s at the corner of Main Street and Route 38 and the Elburn Community Center a few miles south.
“Despite everything that is going on we want to make sure our families are getting what they need,” Eggleston said.
In Aurora, East Aurora School District 131 is also slated to deliver meals via bus routes, beginning next week.
The school bus plan was in addition to school lunch pickups at designated buildings on weekdays since school closures due to coronavirus, Kaneland Superintendent Todd Leden said.
“These are the same meals that students would receive if we were in school,” Leden told The Beacon-News.
Some 170 lunches plus weekend meal packages were distributed that included meals for families for last weekend, he said.
“We will communicate with our families … to outline the plans for lunch distribution plans. It is essential for the well-being of our students to have quality and nutritious meals on a daily basis,” Leden said in an email response to questions.
The district wanted to make the food distribution accessible to everyone.
Families could go to one of 17 locations convenient to them and there was no need to sign-up in advance, school officials said.
“Kaneland has students from nine municipalities. We are coming to them to make sure there are not any barriers for them to get what they need,” McCoy said.
The school lunch packages included peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fresh fruit and carrots, granola bars, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and milk that were made by the district’s food service provider.
Friday’s school bus lunch distribution was in addition to what District 302 is already doing as part of its weekday plan to provide lunches to those in need.
Monday through Friday lunches are available for pickup from 10 a.m. to noon at John Stewart Elementary in Elburn, John Shields Elementary in Sugar Grove, McDole Elementary in Montgomery and the Maple Park Fire Department, 305 S. County Line Road in Maple Park. There will no longer be lunch distribution at Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove.
The Kaneland community is pulling together during the coronavirus outbreak, Eggleston said.
“Kaneland is a group of communities that work together,” she said.
Most people are supportive of one another “in the small things and the big things,” she said.
“This is pretty big and we don’t know where it will lead to. We are here for our students and families,” Eggleston said.
Families who came were grateful for the extra help from the district.
“I really appreciate this,” said Marissa Yarbrough of Elburn. “I was at the grocery store focused on what to serve the kids for dinner and wasn’t thinking about lunch.”
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She has two children ages 12 and 15 and two children in college who are now home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She lost her husband unexpectedly a couple of years ago in a work-related trucking accident. She works at a hospital as a gastrointestinal technician, she said.
“We are doing no elective services at the hospital. We are on emergency standby, so if the hospital fills up we will be called to help. If I don’t get called into work it’s going to be tough,” she said.
“I am grateful that my family is healthy and that I do have a job. I am praying for a lot of people,” Yarbrough said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.