Whitley County School District still making student meals, but no longer delivering to students

Many students in the Whitley County School District will likely have a little harder time getting school meals as they continue Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) from home.

On Monday, the school district ended its delivery of student meals by school buses to every bus stop in the county three days per week due to COVID-19 concerns, but it is still offering grab and go lunches at elementary schools throughout the county three days a week.

“Now that we are starting to get some cases in the community, I just don’t feel that it is in the best health of anybody – whether it is the students, the bus drivers or the monitors, who are helping pass those meals out – to have that person to person contact with that many cases people,” Whitley County Superintendent John Siler said Monday afternoon.

“We are trying to do our part not to put any of our employees in harm’s way or our students.”

Volunteers are still preparing the meals in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then the meals will be taken to Boston, Oak Grove, Pleasant View, Whitley East and Whitley North Elementary schools along with Whitley Central Intermediate school, where the grab and go meals will be distributed on those three days from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Each of those days, students will get enough food to last for two days.

Siler said that there were nearly 500 meals prepared Monday that were distributed at the different schools.

“We are still feeding quite a few kids. Not as many as we were, but we are still feeding quite a few,” Siler said.

The school district had been feeding about 3,000 students each day.

Currently there are no changes in meal delivery for Williamsburg Independent Schools or Corbin Independent Schools.

Williamsburg Superintendent Tim Melton said Monday that his district is still delivering meals five days a week for students to various locations throughout the city.

Corbin Independent Schools are offering meals that can be picked up at the main entrance of Corbin Elementary School from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In addition, Immanuel Baptist Church is delivering meals to students each of those three days. On Monday and Wednesday, students get enough food for two days, and on Friday they receive enough food for three days.

Corbin Superintendent Dave Cox said Monday that the food delivery policy is re-evaluated every week on Fridays.

Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 through meal delivery are valid.

On March 26, Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) discontinued meal delivery to bus stops throughout the Lexington community while schools are closed during the pandemic after learning late the prior day that a member of transportation department, who was involved in meal service, tested positive for COVID-19.

Although Lexington-Fayette County health officials think the risk of exposure to other staff and the children served is low, FCPS believes the safest course of action is to close the bus stop program, the district said in the release.

Now the meals are only available at pick-up locations at various schools in Fayette County.