HAMLET — No Kid Hungry — an organization working to end hunger and poverty — challenged social media users to #ThankaHungerHero as school staff work tirelessly to ensure kids get the meals they need during the COVID-19 closure.
And Richmond County Schools’ “Hunger Heroes” in Child Nutrition deserve the biggest thanks for their most recent task.
The district’s Spring Break runs from April 10-17, and to ensure students don’t go hungry, Child Nutrition made it their mission to provide pre-packaged breakfasts and lunches for families to pick up on Thursday, April 9 in addition to their regular meals.
But, Director of Child Nutrition Lois Hood said she received a call Tuesday from the company who said they would deliver the food already pre-packaged, and was told they could no longer fulfill that order.
“I had already promised families food,” said Hood.
The next day, in an effort for Hood to stay true to her promise, she called Cisco in Raleigh, where the department orders food from during the school year, and asked if they had food the department could purchase to fulfill their need.
The company worked with Hood, but said that they would have to have someone pick the food up from Raleigh. Hood spoke with Dr. Jeff Maples, superintendent of Richmond County Schools, and said she needed to rent three U-Hauls. Associate Superintendent of Auxiliary Services Dennis Quick asked the Maintenance Director Steven King if he could send some guys to get the 28 pallets of food.
“We’re always willing to help,” said King. “We’re here to serve the students of Richmond County Schools.”
Hood also asked her staff if they could come back in to help pack food.
“I have a great group here,” Lois said as she looked around East Rockingham’s gym and cafeteria. “They were willing to come back and help me.”
At around 5 p.m., 32 cafeteria staff members arrived at East Rockingham Elementary to start what would become a long night.
By 6:30 p.m., a sea of white paper bags filled the schools’ gym floor, the tables and floor in the cafeteria and the gym’s stage. Bags were divided by school and separated for breakfast and lunch. Hood said they needed to package 27,000 meals to get students through the break.
Cafeteria Manager at Rockingham Middle Tina Hood, said it means a lot to them to come back and to help pack bags because they do it for the kids.
“I’ve been on the bus all week and I’ve seen my kids and I’ve seen other kids,” she said. “It’s great knowing that this little bit is going to help feed them while we’re on Spring Break.”
And Tina White, cafeteria manager at Fairview Heights, echoed her sentiment.
“We are so proud and overjoyed to be able to help the citizens in our county and make sure our children are well taken care of and fed during this traumatic time,” said White.
The U-Hauls arrived from Raleigh at around 7 p.m. and employees clapped and cheered as the trucks pulled into the school’s parking lot.
Ronnie Norton, Child Nutrition supervisor, helped organize the process – asking staff to start with breakfast first and move on to lunch, to keep things running smoothly.
Box by box, and bag by bag, workers filled their paper bags with cereal boxes and juices, ham and cheese sandwiches, calzones, corndogs, steak and cheese tornados, cheese sticks and fruit.
“I know they’re going to be tired going into work tomorrow, and I think everyone is looking forward to finishing up and having a few days off,” said Norton as he individually packed calzones. “But they really rose to the occasion and got it done!”
By 2:30 a.m., everyone wrapped up and went home — but returned to work by seven in the morning to start their day again and pack the regular breakfasts and lunches that would also be delivered and handed out that day.
“These ladies are very dedicated to their jobs and they love Child Nutrition,” said Hood.
“That’s why they’re here late,” chimed Kim Watts, training manager.
“They love to feed their babies,” added Hood. “That’s what they call these kids – their babies.”
Since March 17th, we’ve served 104,579 breakfasts and 104,579 lunches, for total of 209,158 meals, thanks to our Child Nutrition Department and all others who’ve stepped up to help.
So, if you see a Child Nutrition worker, please give them a huge thank you!
