By William Warren
Many families have been impacted in so many ways during the pandemic and providing healthy meals may also continue to be a struggle. It is important to get all the needed nutrients to be successful in school, and the district’s new Nourish program has been aiding all children under the age of 18 in the Great Valley community since March 16.
The USDA allowed schools to still give out meals to students in need. Beginning on August 31, however, the USDA began to allow schools to provide meals for all students, regardless of their income, and for Great Valley that includes breakfast and lunch in cafeteria. The Nourish program now provides meals for the entire school year, including during winter break. Since it began, Nourish has given out 190,000 meals to families who needed it.
Ms. Nicole Melia, the Food & Nutrition Services Supervisor, stated “This program is designed to help families as they navigate the virtual learning process by taking the worry of ‘what to have for lunch’ out of the equation.”
According to the Great Valley Food Services website, for students who are all virtual, breakfast and lunch meals are bundled together for families to take home. Breakfasts contains a fruit, milk, whole grain, and protein rich entrée, while lunches contain fruits and vegetables, milk, and a whole grain or protein rich entrée. Fresh produce found in Nourish box meals are from the Food Service’s garden at KD Markley elementary school. Students with specific dietary needs can still get meals, and these adjustments can be made by contacting klgartner@gvsd.org. With the meals containing protein, grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk, students will be getting foods that meet all their nutritional needs.
Students can receive Nourish boxes with meals on Mondays at the middle school’s dining room. There are two pick up times, from 9 a.m. to 11a.m. and 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. These boxes will contain a whole week’s worth of nourishing breakfast and lunch meals for virtual-only students and a hybrid student’s virtual days. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, masks must be worn, and social distancing guidelines must be followed to keep everyone healthy and safe. Hybrid students also can receive breakfast and lunch meals while they are at school.
All foods given out to students meet the USDA’s guidelines and the health and nutrition needs of students. It is important to have energy for the school day so students can learn at their best ability.
“It is important to have some fruits and /or vegetables at least five servings per day to provide needed vitamins. There have been studies that show that kids who eat a healthy breakfast perform better on tests, have better memory and more energy,” said Ms. Alison Morse, the school nurse.
According to the University of Minnesota, only about 60% of teenagers eat breakfast in the morning. Not eating breakfast can be detrimental to students’ ability to learn but having quick preparation breakfasts around can help students get breakfast in before going to school or a virtual classroom.
“Students frequently will come to the nurse complaining of headaches and stomachaches. Many times, this is due to a lack of food or drink. Dehydration can cause students to have headaches and lack of food can lead to stomach pain,” said Ms. Morse. She also goes on to say how sugary and salty fast-food breakfasts students may pick up on the way to school can cause stomach aches.
If you are interested in the program, there are two ways to order. For those who have children attending school in the Great Valley School District, order meals at onlineordering.linq.com. Anyone who lives in the district but their child is receiving their education at another institution or on-line, email foodservice@gvsd.org to order.
Any additional information and further details of the above can be gotten at https://gvsdfoodservice.org/.
The Great Valley Food Department is also collecting gift cards and food for the Chester County Food Bank.
“We will be supplementing for those that need a little extra with the gift cards that are collected from the community. Our hope is that we can also help to support the local restaurants with these gift cards, since this pandemic has disproportionately negatively affected those in the food industry,” said Ms. Melia. Gift card donations can be sent to the Food Service Office, and for anyone looking to make food donations please contact the Chester County Food Bank.