SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — School districts around Northeast Ohio are offering free breakfasts and lunches for students, to make sure everyone stays fed during the coronavirus pandemic.
But the South Euclid-Lyndhurst City Schools District is taking it one step further.
Food service staff members come in at 7 a.m. to make and pack hundreds of breakfasts and lunches every single weekday — handing them off as parents drive by.
For parents like Patti Ross, it’s a blessing.
“I think it’s so awesome. Mine try to open it up as soon as they get in the car,” Ross said. “And then on Fridays they give us enough lunches to last the whole weekend.”
A steady stream of cars, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. every weekday — available to every student in the district, no ID necessary.
Director Pupil Services Melissa Thompson said when schools were ordered to shut down, the district knew what it had to do.
“It’s so important to keep the kids fed,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure that our children and families have the resources that they need.”
And if you ask Brush High School basketball coach Chet Mason what these meals mean — he knows firsthand.
“I grew up as a kid in the inner-city that wasn’t able to eat when school wasn’t in, you know? So it’s always been one of my passions,” Mason said. He is also the district resource coordinator.
And it’s also why when parents or students can’t come to the school to get the meals — Mason drops them off at their front doors himself.
“Somebody give you one of those lunch boxes, your eyes light up, you’re happy,” Mason said.
