Food makes money

Sweetwater County School District No.2’s summer food program served up thousands of meals and brought some revenue to the district as well.

Nutrition Services Director Leah Kenison told the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees the district served 13,639 lunches and 3,774 breakfasts at four locations throughout the summer. Compared to last year, the district served approximately 2,400 more meals this year. The meals were provided free of charge to residents 18 years old and younger through a grant the district receives, being reimbursed the cost of each meal after the district pays the initial cost.

Kenison said by keeping the meal costs low, the district was able to make $26,887 in revenue from the program, describing the revenue as “pretty exciting.”

This is the fourth year the district has hosted the program. The program isn’t solely for low-income either, as daycares, summer camps and summer school programs have utilized it as well. During a previous interview with the Green River Star in June, former Nutrition Service Director Linda Martin said the program can also serve children who have working parents and can walk to one of the locations for breakfast or lunch.

Other board business

Human Resources Director Jason Fuss told the board the district is seeing the effects of a teacher shortage through teachers retiring or leaving the district, but has still been able to recruit new educators to Green River.

At the start of the meeting, school administrators introduced their new teachers, some of whom were student teachers in the district during the previous school year. Fuss said they’ve added an additional day for new teacher orientation and have implemented a mentoring program that is already showing positive impacts for new hires. However, while the district has had success in recruiting new educators, Fuss said his office will focus on teacher retention.