District lunch program expands

Sweetwater County School District No. 2’s lunch program is being expanded to give children lunch over the weekends.

In an announcement to parents, Leah Kenison, director of the district’s food service program, said the district received approval to hand out weekend meals. On Friday, three bags will be given to children, one for each day. These meals are available to any child or teen in Green River, free of charge.

This comes after the district started sending meals out on buses throughout Green River, Jamestown and Little America Monday.

Kenison said the buses answer a problem they’ve had with the food distribution, in that some families live at distances from the pickup points that make it hard for children to walk to school. One specific area was the homes near the Sweetwater County Library and their distance from Washington Elementary School.

“We knew there were kids who could not go to the sites,” she said.

After receiving guidance from state and federal agencies and collaborating with the district’s transportation department, bus routes were developed to make the buses mobile meal pickup sites. Since expanding meal availability to the weekends, Kenison said she’s received a tremendous response from parents and students. While talking with people Monday, Kenison said some parents were emotional and thankful the district would feed children over the weekends.

“We’re providing a need for the community here,” she said.

On Monday alone, the district distributed 2,550 meals. The meals themselves follow federal nutritional guidelines. For breakfast, a meal consists of a cereal, a breakfast cracker, a serving of fruit and milk.

Lunches consist of a meat or meat alternative, a grain, a serving of fruit and vegetables each, and milk.

Moving forward, Kenison said the district will be including frozen foods, with directions on how to heat them, for lunch. She said the district is providing popcorn chicken and hamburger this week.

Lunches will include pizza, hamburger, and chicken patties next week and will be served Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Since the start of the COVID-19 coronavirus school closures, the district has provided free breakfast and lunch to children and teens in Green River. Originally, the meals were distributed from Washington, Truman, and Monroe and Harrison schools, as well as at schools in McKinnon and Granger.

Bus routes and schedule

Bus 1

10:15 a.m.: Little America playground

Bus 2

10:20 a.m.: Sweetwater County Park

11:05 a.m.: Adams RV parking lot

11:55 a.m.: Johnson and Mainline

Bus 3

10:15 a.m.: South 5th East Street and East 3rd South Street

11 a.m.: Evers Park

11:45 a.m.: East 2nd North Street and North 1st East Street (by empty parking lot by the library)

Bus 4

10:15 a.m.: Hutton Heights Mall

11 a.m.: Nazarene Church Parking lot

11:40 a.m.: Don Pedro’s Parking lot

12:20 p.m.: Hilltop Baptist Church

Bus 5

10:15 a.m.: Wilson Street off Jefferson Street (by the trailer park)

11 a.m.: Jefferson Street and Schultz Street

11:45 a.m.: Andrews Street and Jensen Street

Bus 6

10:20 a.m.: Idaho Street and Colorado Drive

11 a.m.: Edgewater Park

11:45 a.m.: Butte Apartments parking lot

Bus 7

10:20 a.m.: Pennsylvania Boulevard and

Mississippi Street (by the Green Belt)

11:05 a.m.: Palmer Court and Alexandria Circle

11:50 a.m.: New York Circle

Bus 8

10:30 a.m.: Parking lot behind Castillion Dental

11:15 a.m.: Green River Rec Center upper section, by the crosswalk (a crossing guard will be available)

Noon: Castle Heights parking lot (across from Sweetwater County Child Development Center)