Gibson County school district provides free lunch to children 18 and under

By Laurin Stroud

 

To help give students some sense of normalcy during school shutdowns, the Gibson County Special School District is still providing lunch to children 18 and under Monday through Friday.

Last week, GCSSD leaders got together to determine a plan of action in case the COVID-19 outbreak necessitated a shutdown of schools. Paige Garner, GCSSD director of food services, said that they began ordering food and supplies March 16. They put their plan in place Tuesday and began carrying it out the next day.

The district provided more than 683 meals in three days, Garner said.

“The children do not have to be school age or attend GCSSD schools,” she said. “If a child from another district is staying with someone within the GCSSD area, they can still sign up to receive these meals.”

Each school is a designated pick up location. Schools were also delivering these meals by bus until Friday when Gibson County had its first confirmed case of COVID-19.

“We are suspending our bus routes to the homes due to health concerns with our students and staff members,” Garner said. “We will continue our grab-n-go meals at each local school site.”

Meals are available 11 a.m. to 12:3 p.m. at Dyer, Rutherford, Kenton, Spring Hill, and Yorkville schools and South Gibson County Elementary School.

Teachers from each school are volunteering their time to help pack and distribute meals.

No meals will be provided during the district’s scheduled spring break – March 30-April 3.

“We will meet next week, reevaluate the need, and determine if this program will be extended,” Garner said.

For more information or to sign up your child for free meals, visit www.gcssd.org or call the Central Office at 731-692-3803.