by Jo Dawson, MS, SNS | Child Nutrition Program Manager | Alaska Department of Education & Early Development| Division of Finance & Support Services | Child Nutrition Programs| & AFPC Board Member
While school buildings were closed to students on March 16, 2020 by state-issued Health Mandates; many districts have still been feeding students throughout the state. School nutrition professionals across Alaska have transitioned their programs from the cafeteria to meals-to-go, bus route stops, and even home delivery. In an average day, schools in Alaska serve approximately 48,000 lunches; a three-quarters of which are to children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Across the state schools knew the impact closure would have on families.
The process to transition to non-congregate meals was full of logistical and regulatory hoops; the Department of Education & Early Development, Child Nutrition Programs oversees school nutrition programs. A waiver was proactively submitted to USDA to support non-congregate feeding a week before the health mandate to close schools was announced. This extra time allowed districts to plan in the event of a school building closure. In the first week DEED approved 9 districts with 115 distribution points with many additional requests coming in.
The original waiver allowed schools to serve only sites where half the student enrollment were eligible for free or reduced price meals; all other sites had to directly target low-income families and if participation did not meet the one-half minimum, those sites were at risk of not receiving reimbursement. A second waiver was requested by DEED to expand student area eligibility, which was also approved by USDA. This second waiver allowed districts to focus on feeding all students while continuing to perform outreach to low-income families and families with income changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, USDA has issued many national waivers and determinations to support district nutrition programs, including parent pick-up meals, meal pattern waivers, and the allowance of weekend meals. To date, 42 districts are approved at 257 sites including mobile routes and home delivery; DEED also approved 9 Head Start and afterschool programs for non-congregate food distribution at 25 sites.
The partnerships between student nutrition and education has been paramount; some Alaska districts provide daily education plans with the meals, in some districts the nurses home deliver meals to check on students who need medical attention, and in others free libraries are available for the students to take home with their school lunch. The relationship between nutrition and education has never been more evident.
Districts that lack the resources to sustain long-term meals-to-go systems have opted to take part in a pilot project in which DEED has been approved to participate called Meals to You (mealstoyou.org). Meals to You sends children a full week of shelf-stable meals to meet USDA requirements. The pilot program is a partnership between the Texas Hunger Institute at Baylor University and USDA. Approved as a pilot for the summer of 2019, they were recently authorized to provide meals in response to the current COVID-19 crisis. In collaboration with the Food Bank of Alaska, DEED had been working towards this option for the summer of 2020 in unserved communities, but were fortunate to accelerate the timeline for emergency response.
First Student employees and Juneau School District food services supervisor Adrianne Schwartz, left, carry student meals off the bus they’re being distributed from near Juneau-Douglas High School:Yadaa.at Kalé, March 16, 2020. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)
Did you know that Cordova School District is distributing 4,000 meals per week to kids around the community? That's a lot of lunch! (Photo: The Cordova Times)
Gearing up for four days work of meals distribution. (Photo: Sitka School District)
They are at it again!! This grateful family from Joy Elementary has outdone themselves by creating such an amazing display of gratitude! We love feeding our students!! (Photo: Fairbanks School District)
