While COVID-19 has forced us to
reconsider our needs, wants and social
practices, one thing remains the same: our
need for food.
As grocery stores have struggled to keep
shelves stocked and meat supplies have
continued to dwindle, many families have
found themselves grappling with food insecurity.
Scott Anderson, the Madison County
Schools food service director, plans to do
all he can to help those families and keep
children fed.
After the closure of Madison County
Schools in mid-March, the Madison County
Food Service Program began to plan how
to continue to meet the needs of children in
Madison County. The number of families in
need increased exponentially, mostly due
to the closure of businesses and losses
of jobs. Anderson said in those first three
weeks after the closure of institutions, he
received calls late at night from mothers
who were scared for their families and in
need of help.
One mother, Lana Hallmark, knows very
well the difficulties parents are facing during
this pandemic. Hallmark is the mother
of six children, all of whom are stuck
at home due to the virus outbreak. Her
husband builds cabins, and Hallmark says
he has been working less often because
of restrictions and other circumstances
related to COVID-19. Hallmark is unable to
drive due to illness, and when one of her
childrens’ bus drivers recommended the
program to the family, Hallmark jumped on
the opportunity.
“The things that we’re having difficulty
getting in the store they are providing to us,
like milk and other products,” said Hallmark.
“If I can’t get to it, they get a way to
give it to me — they go above and beyond
to make sure you’re provided for.”
The program provides two meals per
child per day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays,
meals can be picked up at B. Michael
Caudill Middle School and Shannon
Johnson Elementary School between 10
a.m. and 2 p.m. Street Eats is their food
delivery service which delivers four days a
week, ensuring that children have seven
days worth of food. Anderson and staff
have seen the number of meals given increase
in the time that schools have been
closed, with numbers topping out around
110,000.
“Up until this week, we were doing
90,000 to 110,000 meals a week. This
week, school is officially out for the summer,
so those numbers have dropped to
about 50,000 a week and may continue to
drop as summer continues,” Anderson said
in mid May.
This number drop may be due to families
being unsure if the Madison County
Food Service Program will continue into
the summer, but Anderson assures families
that he and his staff plan to continue
providing meals to children throughout
this summer and into the next school year.
Anderson suspects the number of summer
meals served per week will remain around
30,000, an increase from previous summer
programs.
The food service program has had to
adapt to the societal changes caused by
COVID-19. Recently, the program has
given a variety of meals, and have even
started a “take and bake” initiative, which
allows parents to pick up food ingredients
and make the meal at home. To supplement,
Anderson has begun to upload
videos online to show parents how to fix
the food they receive through the program.
These meals range from Asian foods to
pizza, and Anderson gave out milk and
fresh fruits — ingredients used for smoothies,
etc. — on June 2 in order to highlight
dairy farmers.
One mother, Holly Stone, said these
“take home” meals have helped her family
venture outside of their usual food favorites.
“(Anderson)’s taught everybody how to
be a little more adventurous with food.
There are several products we would’ve
never bought or have never heard of before
that we got in the bags, that now we’re
like, ‘Oh we’re going to look for those in the
grocery store,’” Stone said.
Stone, whose son attends Foley Middle
School in Berea, said pizzas have been a
particular hit in her household, as well as
the make-your-own Asian chicken meal,
which allows parents and children to get
creative with ingredients.
During the past few months, and even
moving forward in the future, Anderson
said the biggest challenge he and his staff
face is keeping safe. They have adapted
protocols during this time, which includes
increases in sanitation and hand washing -
something they formerly did often, but now
do continuously.
“We put [the meal] on the table, sanitize
it and allow them to pick it up and then
sanitize the table again,” Anderson said.
New materials have been purchased for
future use, such as masks, gloves, plastic
barriers and hand sanitizer. Anderson is
confident that he and his staff are wellprepared
for the uncertain future. However,
Anderson and staff are not completely
untouched by the virus. Anderson said his
staff has faced uncertainties in their work,
including knowing that they face exposure.
“Their fears ... keeping them pumped
up and energized to come in and feed
90,000 meals a week when you’re scared
and you’ve got parents at home or kids,”
Anderson said.
However, he and his staff have persevered,
even while facing staff cuts and the
loss of some of their delivery capabilities.
Anderson said he and his staff are “rewriting
[their] handbook” on what it looks like
to feed kids and taking the lessons they’ve
learned and applying them to plans for the
future.
Any child younger than the age of 18 is
eligible to receive a meal. Under the current
circumstances, parents are allowed to
pick up meals without the presence of their
child. Anderson stresses that this applies to
any family and any child — not just those
who attend Madison County Schools.
“If you can make it to us, if you have a
child, we will feed you,” Anderson said.
From left, Nancy Durbin, Michelle Begley, Denise Linton and Bethany Smith help
to load a cooler filled with milk onto a delivery bus for meals for children.
June- July 2020 Madison Magazine 19