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Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 03:11 PM Apr 2020

Schools Are Cutting Back Meal Services, Putting More Demand On Food Banks

Food service employees are among the few workers in school districts physically reporting for work every day during the pandemic lockdowns, joining front-line efforts to keep needy kids fed and safe.

“Our jobs are not necessarily monetarily driven, they’re more mission-driven,” said Irene Wan, director of Maplewood Richmond Heights School District’s food service division. “We’re here to serve people, we’re here to serve our families.”

Districts throughout the region have prepped, packed and handed out more than 100,000 meals — breakfasts and lunches — to kids around the St. Louis region. Demand for food has increased in St. Louis, with 1,400 more meals served last week than the one prior.

But then the virus struck the front lines.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/schools-are-cutting-back-meal-services-putting-more-demand-food-banks

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Schools Are Cutting Back Meal Services, Putting More Demand On Food Banks (Original Post) Sherman A1 Apr 2020 OP
Some are. Igel Apr 2020 #1

Igel

(35,191 posts)
1. Some are.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 03:49 PM
Apr 2020

Some aren't.

The "bare plural" like "Schools are cutting back meal services" is a horrible construction, semantically.

All? Two? There's a difference, and the phrasing lets readers get to decide on their own personal truthy.

Even worse, very often the reporter makes the claim and then has an example. But others must be doing it.

Or the reporter claims one school is doing it, and then people cite the article with the plural.

My district hands out food to students and families entitled to it. They had a rough time for a couple of weeks, packing up enough with a bit extra for kids entitled to free/reduced meals, but ran hundreds of boxes short as people decided that free food with no questions was a deal. Kids entitled to food were shortchanged. District's running in the red from this. No, it doesn't have janitors or AC costs, but it has a lot of additional things--software, additional hardware, etc.--so they weren't going to spring for thousands of dollars of extra food.

Now they scan student ID cards that a kid puts up against the window and the car gets the food for all the kids + family members at once. Everybody stays in the car. Another kid in the family shows up (in another car), no food for that kid. Show up with a kid and no ID, no food. Show up with ID and no kid, no food. They make a bit extra, and at the end of the food distribution time, then they'll hand it out to those not on the list.

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