A big thank you to all involved in the GCPS DLD Food Program!
Between March 16 and May 15, our teams from the School Nutrition Program and Transportation, with help from support staff and administrators, prepared and distributed more than 2.6 million meals to children in our community at no charge to families! In the kitchen, in the pick-up lane, and on the bus routes, these heroes on the front line made sure that many of our students had access to nutritious meals each day during Digital Learning Days (DLD).
Remember, Gwinnett County Government is stepping in with its Summer Meals program, now available at 18 sites around the county.
To support GCPS’ food program this spring, some 1,100 SNP staff members worked to prepare the meals. The program started with a lunch option, then breakfast was added on April 7. While meals were available for pick up at 67 school locations, SNP staff at every school participated in this effort. Sites that did not host the program were partnered with host schools to provide additional support, ensuring all GCPS schools were fully engaged in the preparation and distribution of meals, says Ken Yant, executive director for GCPS’ School Nutrition Program.
While families had the option to pick up meals at the participating schools, more than three-quarters of DLD meals were delivered by a GCPS school bus. Don Moore, executive director for Transportation, says that more than 1,600 drivers and monitors teamed up to deliver the meals, with nearly 500 buses running routes each day to serve students in the identified clusters.
If you’re curious about what goes into 2.6 million meals, here are just a few eye-popping stats…
933,280 Fresh Apples (whole and slices)
261,744 servings of String Cheese (1 oz. sticks)
2,498,900 servings of Milk (8 oz. cartons)
179,400 servings of Carrot Sticks (1/2 cup)
221,712 servings of Yogurt (1/2 cup)