• By CHRIS ALDRIDGE
• Kentucky Agricultural News

Public school food service directors are facing challenges in those Kentucky school systems not doing in-person sessions because of the coronavirus pandemic. While many are not fully utilizing their commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the free meals they distribute to students learning at home, others are finding unique ways to get meals to their students.

In many of these school districts, frozen meat items, such as ground beef and diced chicken, are not being used. “Inventory is backing up,” said Bill Wickliffe, director of the Division of Food Distribution at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

These school systems instead have purchased processed foods to make sack lunches to distribute when school was not doing in-person sessions. But one food service director made an extra effort to feed his students hot meals using his county’s allotment of USDA commodities.

“We had all this inventory, stuff just sitting there, so we made plate lunches, which a lot of (other school systems) probably didn’t do,” said Monroe County Food Service Director John Pettit. “Starting in March (when schools began closing), we tried to get as innovative as we could and used everything that we had on hand so as not to lose money.”

Popular meals included shepherd’s pie and spaghetti, both made using ground beef. For chicken lovers, there were breaded strips, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll.

Cars carrying families with school-age kids began lining up outside the distribution site for breakfast and lunch when at-home learning began last spring. The meals continued to be served over the summer.

“There was a demand for those hot lunches,” Pettit said. “They wore us out. Our staff was asking me, ‘Are we ever gonna get back in school? Is this gonna end?’ It was really tough but rewarding at the end of the day.”

Pettit remembers the most popular meal was the day he served all the frozen pizzas the school system had.

“We had a line probably 75 cars long in a county of 12,000 people,” he said. “That line stayed that way for three hours.”

Pettit and his staff made about 25,000 meals per month when school was out last spring and summer for a school population of approximately 1,800. Currently, 1,400 Monroe County students have returned to school this fall, while 400 have chosen to continue virtual learning at home.

“The thing we didn’t do is sit idle,” Pettit said. “We had kids that were hungry in this community, and a school stoppage hurts kids.”

“While we are all struggling with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen everyday heroes step up to the plate to make sure our kids are fed,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. “I want to praise our schools, our teachers, and our food service directors and staff who are rising to the challenges of this difficult time.”

“We didn’t do anything crazy, just good ole-fashioned work,” Pettit added. “It’s about effort – taking the resources you have and utilizing them.

“We didn’t reinvent the wheel, but we didn’t stick a knife in it either.”