The Crookston School District will offer two free meals a day for students and kids 0-18 beginning on Monday, March 23. Food Service Director Anna Ogaard-Brekken said the program will work similarly to the summer food service program except that meals will only be available for kids. “The Governor has required us to offer a free meal service during the emergency school closure,” said Ogaard-Brekken. “We’re going to begin that on Monday, March 23, giving us a little time to plan. We are going to run it out of one location for the entire district, and it will run similar to our summer food service program. It will be offered to all kids 0-18. We will not be doing any offers to adults, even if they want to pay for a meal. This is just an emergency plan just for students who need a meal.”
There are two options for foodservice; the first will be to pick up lunch and breakfast each day from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Highland Elementary School. “There are two options,” said Ogaard-Brekken. “The one we are asking people to utilize if they are able is the grab-and-go option. That is where they will drive up to the front of Highland Elementary School, and one adult or student can get out and come to the front door. The food service staff will meet them and ask how many meals they need for that day. We will go and bring them that many meals. When they pick up their meals, they will get a breakfast and a lunch at the same time. So, if you have six students and need six meals, you’ll get six breakfasts and six lunches to bring home. We don’t need to see the students. We won’t be asking questions. We’ll trust your judgment that your kids are 0-18.”
The second option for families that can’t pick up meals because they are home sick, have a weakened immune system, or both parents are working and can’t make it to Highland is to have the meals delivered according to Ogaard-Brekken. “If, for some reason, you can not come to the school, you can utilize our delivery option,” said Ogaard-Brekken. “We want to stress that it’s going to be in place for those that have a weakened immune system, are in poor health, or have other underlying health conditions where they are asked not to leave their house. This would be the only way we want to do the delivery option, or if it’s the children of two working parents and they can’t get to Highland Elementary School, they can call in. At this point, we are delivering within city limits. If there is a strain and you are out of town, but still within our school district, you can call in, and we’ll try to work out an option. What it will look like is you will call in, you’ll request a meal. You can actually request a meal for up to that full week. And we will deliver it sometime between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., again, breakfast and lunch each day for that student.”
The free meal service will continue for all regularly scheduled school days for any days the schools are required to be closed for the COVID-19 pandemic explained Ogaard-Brekken. “We’re going to start it Monday, March 23,” said Ogaard-Brekken. “And we’re going to run it all regularly scheduled school days, so if this continues through April the days, we don’t have school around Easter we would not run this program. We’ll play it by ear. Again, this is a very new thing for us. We’ve never had to do anything like this before, so our guidelines may continue to change with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Minnesota Department of Education, and Minnesota Department of Health. They may continue to update us, and we may need to continue to evolve our plans with community needs and everything like that. This is how we are going to start and we hope that we can serve the students that need it in our community. And that, that can maybe ease some parent’s minds that they will be offered at least two meals a day through food service.”
Anyone with questions, needing to request delivery, or to request a meal for someone with food allergies should call 218-281-5600 between 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
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