Food service for Lorain students does not get a summer vacation.
The school year ended in May, but Lorain City Schools and Aramark has continued food distribution through the summer.
The district’s food service operations changed starting in the spring when in-person classes in Ohio were canceled due to the novel coronavirus.
Lorain Schools and Aramark began giving free bagged breakfasts and lunches at stops at the schools and elsewhere in the city.
The meals were available for families with children age 18 or younger, regardless if they are students of Lorain Schools.
That program has continued into the summer vacation and will last at least through the end of July, and likely into the first week of August, when planning for the school year begins, said Kelly Kaminski, food service director for Aramark in Lorain Schools.
The program was off on July 3, for the observance of the July 4 holiday, but was to return July 6.
“We’re going to be back out here every Monday through Friday, ready with bags for everybody,” Kaminski said.
The service has slowed down over the summer, but still involves a lot of food.
Up to 11 Aramark staffers prepare the cold meals at Lorain High School.
When ready, trucks carry bins loaded with bagged meals for distribution when parents and caregivers walk or drive up to the schools.
In the past four weeks, the average weekly total meals were 16,432, Kaminski said.
That includes breakfast, lunch and the super snack.
Monday to Wednesday, the staff were delivering about 700 bags, or about 2,100 meals, a day.
That figure climbed to about 900 bags, or about 2,700 meals, on Thursdays or Fridays when extra food is included to cover weekends.
During a typical school day, Aramark prepares about 9,000 meals for breakfast and lunch.
“But considering it’s a totally different circumstance and a completely different service model, we’re still doing quite well,” Kaminski said. “We’re happy to be able to be out here helping the kids and helping these families.
“It’s a tough time for everybody, so we are more than happy to be out here doing what we can.”
On July 2, Jennifer Osborne, Aramark manager at Palm Elementary School, and Lorain Schools staffer Angel Velez said they gave out 133 bags at Stevan Dohanos Elementary and at least 100 at Southview Middle School in South Lorain.
The crews are scheduled to stay about 20 minutes per stop and they meet a steady stream of cars.
In previous summers, Aramark and Lorain Schools provided meals on-site for children who ate on-site, with just one meal provided at a time, Kaminski said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Education have allowed more flexibility for the food distribution, she said.
Aramark posts monthly menus using the “Aramark Feeds Lorain City Schools” page on Facebook.
Lorain Schools frequently posts the distribution schedule on its official website, lorainschools.org.
