Students in Ohio County Schools who opted to have their summer meals sent to them via mail will soon be receiving their first week's worth of summer meal packs, if they haven’t already received them. While the meals were originally slated to be sent out the week of June 7, they will be arriving to students’ homes no later than Friday, June 18 according to school officials.
The meal packs will include breakfast and lunch items. Containing five days worth of food, the items will be shelf-stable and will be delivered by UPS directly to students’ homes.
Currently, there are 586 students participating in the program. All children aged 2-18 are eligible for free meals through the program.
Originally set to be sent weekly from June 7 through July 26, the initial timeline was postponed due to shipping difficulties.
“There was an issue with trying to pick up the shipments, but it has been worked out,” said Renee Griffin, child nutrition director for Ohio County Schools. “We have been working with customer support and getting help.
“I’m glad we got the glitches worked out and we will move forward.”
Approximately half of this week’s meals were delivered to students earlier in the week, with the remainder being scheduled for delivery Friday.
According to Griffin, delivering the meals via UPS was the most cost-effective way to get the meals into the homes of students. This is because the school district receives a discount through their membership in the Mountaineer Co-op.
These meal packs are not replacing the standard breakfast and lunch options available to students as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. The sit-down meals offered through the Summer Food Service Program will still be available for students.
Parents can sign their children up to have meals delivered to their home at boe.ohio.k12.wv.us under the Menu tab by choosing the Summer 2021: Meal Kit Home Delivery option.
For additional questions, parents are being directed to contact their child’s school, or call the nutrition office at 304-243-0477.