Stonington Public School Food Services is serving up grab-and-go lunches and even delivering to families' doors too to ensure kids don't go hungry and to keep them healthy during school closures.
It takes a team to feed students when they're at school, and even more so when they're now learning from home.
“We go out and say hi because we see them and, I think, I miss my school family even more than my regular family,” Wendianne Caraballo, kitchen manager of the Deans Mill School, said, laughing.
In a time of great uncertainty, she's one of a group of food service employees making a lot of kids feel more at home.
“Parents are out of work and they don’t know when they can get back to work and if we can take this off of their plate, it just supports everybody,” said Director of Food Services, Becky Fowler.
Fowler feels the challenges the parents are facing right now. As her husband is stationed in Hawaii, she’s trying to keep the mouths of more than just her kids fed, plus navigate this unchartered territory of organizing a meal program in such an unprecedented time. but she says there are so many people behind the scenes helping is sail smoothly.
“I’m out of work. I work for the YMCA. We’re closed right now. ...This is a great service getting us lunch and breakfast until I get a paycheck,” Michele Kelley, of Stonington , said.
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One college student said picking up this meal for his second-grade sibling is one less daily stress as his mom, a teacher, plans lessons for her students from home these days.
“I’m not very good at making things, so this definitely saves me,” Mateo Olmedo, A college student, SAID.
Stonington families are still encouraged to sign up for the meal services.
