ASHLAND — Last summer, the Hillsdale High School cafeteria would have likely been empty on a random Tuesday morning. This year, that’s not the case.
With students and staff enjoying their seasonal vacation, the large space rarely serves its typical purpose in June or July. This summer, the room has been bustling with activity every Tuesday morning as volunteers prepare meals for 398 students within the Hillsdale Local School District.
With the promise of reimbursement from the state and generous community support, the district decided to continue its meal delivery program through the end of July for families in need. These meals — five breakfasts and five lunches — have been packaged and delivered every Tuesday since school left out.
“In a typical year, we’re not a high ‘free and reduced lunch’ community, but in light of COVID-19 and families losing their jobs, there’s a need in the schools that we felt could provide,” said Supt. Steve Dickerson.
Weekly meals include lunches like cheeseburgers and pizza, and breakfast options feature cereal or frozen waffles. Each family also receives a gallon of milk, donated by Borden Dairy, and juice. Chips and sides for the lunches have also been donated, along with the boxes and bags used to pack and distribute the food.
“It’s about 15 to 20 volunteers. They make it happen,” said food service manager Orrie Flickinger. “They are here preparing on Monday, and then on Tuesday, they are packing and loading and are pretty much done by 1 p.m. with all deliveries.”
During the school year, employees were compensated for their time. The district’s meal service transitioned to a delivery system in late March when schools were ordered to close their buildings and instead offer remote education for their students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dickerson applauded his staff for their continued efforts into the summer.
“They could be enjoying whatever you can in this day and time, but they still choose to come in,” he said.
It’s the volunteers, he continued, that make the deliveries possible.
Food is ordered by head cooks Kitty Rumkle, Jody Raubenolt and Kim Paullin. The trio has faced challenges ordering pre-packaged food, which prompted volunteers to gather on Mondays, too, to break apart bulk orders into individual meals.
On Tuesday, the focus is to get the meals delivered. Boxes are loaded into seven vans and sent throughout the district.
“The drivers get all the fun notes from the kids, and they bring them back to hang up here,” Raubenolt said.
The deliveries are expected to continue through the end of July when the district will no longer have the reimbursement opportunity through the state.
