Both noncommercial operators and community members gave back this week, making sure that everyone around them had access to meals. Here are five bright spots that we found.
1. Joking around
Breanna Murray, a cafeteria employee at Moses Lake School District in Moses Lake, Wash., was looking for a way to make meal pickup more fun for students, so she began writing jokes on the lunch bags used for meals. She has written jokes on 1,500 lunch bags so far.
2. Serving up senior meals
The dining team at the University of Southern California has launched the Senior Meal Emergency Response Program, through which it preps and packs 8,000 meals each week for seniors in need. The meals include entrees such as beef enchiladas with steamed quinoa and herb-crusted cod.
Read the full story at news.usc.edu.
3. Saying bye to lunch debt
Lunch debt was eliminated at The Franklin Special School District in West Franklin, Tenn., thanks to donations from community members. Around 75 patrons helped pay off over $9,700 in meal debt so that students will start the upcoming school year with zero debt in their lunch accounts.
Read the full story at williamsonherald.com.
4. Pizza profits
Lampo Pizzeria in Charlottesville, Va., is helping out the nutrition program at nearby Charlottesville City Public Schools by donating 100% of its proceeds from one day of service to the program.
Read the full story at nbc29.com.
5. Groceries for good
Each week, the dining team at The University of Maryland in College Park, Md., packs up groceries for community members experiencing food insecurity or those who have caught COVID-19 and are quarantining.
Read the full story at baltimore.cbslocal.com.