Ellensburg School District has been providing breakfast and lunch sacks at nine different locations since April 6, to anyone under the age of 18. The program will continue until June 19. 

Schools have continued to provide lunch to students even though schools throughout the state have remained closed since Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order was announced March 13.

Kelly Kronbauer, executive director of student services for the Ellensburg School District, said many families rely on breakfast and lunches the school provides and although kids are not attending school, he said the district still has the obligation to support those students with meals. 

“This [lunch program] is actually the emergency foods program. This is directly connected to the COVID-19 situation and all school districts have been tasked with providing meals for our students,” Kronbauer said.

All food service staff wear masks and gloves at all times while working. The staff frequently wash their hands between tasks and have people spread out as much as possible inside of the kitchen. Everyone maintains the 6-feet apart social distancing guidelines. If anyone has any runny noses or flu symptoms they are asked to stay home, Child Nutrition Director Alexandra Epstein-Solfield said. 

Epstein-Solfield said one of the first things they did was check the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of common chemical disinfectants that work against the coronavirus. 

“The staff was typically using a sanitizer, but it was not on the EPA list and then we made the switch to a bleach and water solution that was on the list,” Epstein-Solfield said.  

Epstein-Solfield said they are operating underneath the Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service program guidelines. Within these guidelines for breakfast the district is required to serve a grain, a fruit and a milk item. For lunch they are required to serve a protein item, a grain, a milk item, fruits and vegetables.

“A typical lunch might look like a grilled cheese sandwich, milk, a pack of carrots and an apple,” Epstein-Solfield said.  

Epstein-Solfield said the work environment is very busy in terms of production. When school was in session, breakfast and lunch were served separately and out of the kitchen. Now, the district is serving what are called “grab-and-go” style meals. 

“The kitchen and food service staff are generally behind the scenes doing the production, cooking, packaging and putting the meals together. Then, a lot of our other school district staff helps with actually distributing the meals, and that includes bus drivers and other support staff,” Epstein-Solfield said. 

All the meals are prepared ahead of time and sent out to Morgan Middle School, Mt. Stuart Elementary, Damman School District, Millpond Manor neighborhood, Rotary Park and several fire stations including at Reecer Creek, Brickmill and Ferguson Roads and at North Alder Street.

Last week, [Epstein-Solfield] and her team served almost 8,000 meals and it continues to grow more every week, Kronbauer said.

“We have a web page specifically for COVID-19 called esd401.org that is set up with different tabs for things like meals, technology and everything we are doing for kids right now,” Kronbauer said. 

Epstein-Solfield said someone messaged her through Facebook. The individual said they really enjoy the meals and it has taken a big burden off of this parent in particular who is working from home. She is able to walk to the bus site near her on her lunch break with her children. 

“She said it’s been a really nice relief to not have to worry about feeding her children everyday and she said it has been a good bonding experience,” Epstein-Solfield said. 

Many employees know the students from working at the schools and are happy to see and reconnect with them, Epstein-Solfield said.

“We certainly feel like we are filling a need, and in general we feel really good about that and hope to be able to continue strong until the end of the school year,” Epstein-Solfield said.