Whitley Schools expanding summer meal kit program to combat food insecurity

The Whitley County School District is doing more than just feeding its students in need this summer, it is feeding the community as well.

A meal kit program will begin being offered at four of the district’s school sometime beginning in mid-June. The kits will provide a week’s worth of shelf-stable foods at a time and is available to anyone ages 18 and under, regardless of where they attend school.

The program will be available thanks to the work of Sharon Foley, food service director at Whitley County, who presented the Whitley County Board of Education with details during the board’s regular monthly meeting last Thursday. According to Foley, the program existed on a smaller scale last summer as a sort-of trial run, but wasn’t heavily promoted last summer due to staff shortages.

This summer, however, Foley is looking to expand the program.

The meal kits were only available at Boston Elementary School and Whitley East Elementary School last year, though they will now also be available at Whitley Central Intermediate School, Oak Grove Elementary School and Whitley North Elementary School.

Foley noted that it will be more convenient for parents than the traditional summer feeding program since they can just pick up the food and be on their way.

“People don’t like to always have to come in if they’re outside doing things. It’s hard to stop, come inside, sit and wait for your children to eat and then go back outside,” said Foley. “With the meal pickups, they’ll drive through and the school and we’ll bring them out the meal boxes that we need.”

“It’s really a neat program,” said Foley. “We’re excited.”

During Thursday’s meeting, the board approved two separate vendors to purchase food from for the meal kits. Foley said that she wanted to have at least two vendors so the foods provided in the kits could be swapped each week to avoid too much repetition in the types of food being given out.

Pick-up days for all the schools will be on Tuesdays, with the exception of Whitley East, which will be on Fridays. When picking up food, drivers will be provided with kits for the number of children with them who qualify. If the children are not present, there is a form that must be filled out detailing who is getting the food.

Superintendent John Siler said that he was happy for the district to be able to provide such a program to the community.

“When school is out, there’s some children that don’t get three good meals a day and this will help those kids and help those families to provide meals for those kids,” said Siler.

He also made sure to thank the district’s food service workers, noting that the program wouldn’t be possible without them.

“Our kitchen staff helping to do this and being willing to come in and work and bring this opportunity in the community, that doesn’t need to go unmentioned,” said Siler. “They all truly have a heart for kids.”

More information is expected to be shared on the school district’s Facebook page as the start of the program nears.