Free Meals Available to All Students in Ohio County Schools
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WHEELING -- Ohio County Schools will continue to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students at school during the 2021-2021 school year, while students learning from home are eligible for meal options as well.
Ohio County Schools announced this week any child under age 18 who is a virtual learner in the district may sign up for a weekly pick-up of multi-day meals. The meals may be picked up from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at just one location — Bridge Street Middle School, 19 Junior Ave., Wheeling.
The packets will not be mailed to homes as they were during the summer.
Virtual learners who are interested in the meal program should contact the Ohio County Schools Child Nutrition Office and director Renee Griffin at 304-243-0477, rgriffin@k12.wv.us, 1976 Park View Road, Wheeling, 26003.
Griffin says the county is still operating its meals program through the United States Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Program. The program provides students one free breakfast and one free lunch each day.
Each school offers its breakfast offerings in a different way, Griffin said. Some do breakfast at the start of the day, or they offer a second-chance breakfast snack for students later in the morning. Grab-and-go breakfasts students can take with them to class also are being offered.
"Anything we can do to increase breakfast participation among students, the better," Griffin said. "Students are more ready to learn with a full belly to take them through the day."
At lunchtime, students will see a new option in their cafeterias this year. Those not wanting a hot lunch will be able to select a bento box lunch that could contain such items as cheese cuts, whole wheat crackers and fruits and vegetables.
"It's just another way to increase participation and get kids to eat school lunch," Griffin said.
Ohio County Schools' summer feeding program ended at the end of July. When the number of meals served at in-person community sites and the meals mailed to homes are combined, the school district provided about 30,000 breakfast meals and about 38,000 lunches to students over the summer.
Griffin termed the numbers for the summer of 2021 and those in 2020 "significantly higher" in past years prior to the pandemic.
She suspects many students and their families just weren't able to get out to go get food items on a regular basis.
"Our traditional program was never that large," Griffin said.
Ohio County Schools is reimbursed on a monthly basis for the number of meals it provided during the past month, she explained.
The mailing of meal packets to homes "worked out" after some glitches with labeling were addressed at the beginning of summer, Griffin said.
"Ultimately, it was the right thing to do," she said. "Once we got started and were on a roll, it got a lot easier.
"The program had its challenges, but we would do it again if we had the opportunity. I don't know if we would have to. It just depends on what the future holds."