Henrico Schools distributed nearly 41,000 free meals last week

Henrico County Public Schools officials distributed nearly 41,000 free meals during the first week of school, according to data provided to the Citizen at the publication’s request.

Ratcliffe Elementary served 840 breakfasts (an average of 210 per day) and 801 lunches (an average of about 200 a day) during the first week of school, the most in both cases of any school that isn’t one of eight distribution hubs (sites that also prepare and distribute food by bus to several different school zones).

New Bridge Academy served just 14 breakfasts and 13 lunches during the week, the fewest among any school site in the county.

(View a complete list of school-by-school data here.)

Because of the pandemic, all meals are free through the end of this year to anyone 18 years old or younger, whether they are enrolled in Henrico public schools or not. The school system will be reimbursed with federal USDA Summer Food Service Program funds for all meals it distributes to those children and teens. (It is not reimbursed for meals that are not distributed, items that must be discarded, or meals for adults or staff members or for the labor required to prepare the meals.)

Meals are available for curbside pick-up at all public schools in Henrico twice a day – between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and again between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Parents or guardians can pick up meals at any site – whether their children are enrolled there or not – without providing any identification, and students do not need to be present. In the morning, those who stop by will receive a hot breakfast (when available) and cold lunch, while those who come at lunchtime will receive a hot lunch (when available) and a cold breakfast for the following morning.

The school system also is distributing meals once a day Monday through Thursday by bus, making 30-minute stops within each school zone (61 in all).

All Thursday meal distributions at schools at by bus include meals for both Thursday and Friday.

The majority of the meals distributed last week – just more than 34,000 – were handed out through the curbside pick-up process at schools. Another 5,266 were distributed by bus (an average of about 22 meals a day at each of the 61 bus stop sites).

'It’s for everyone'
School system officials are urging residents of the county to take advantage of the free food, which they are trying to emphasize is available for everyone – not just those who need it the most.

“If there are folks out there who think that by participating that they would be depriving a family of a meal, they’re not,” HCPS spokesman Andy Jenks told the Citizen. “This is a service for all students everywhere. It’s for everyone.”

To drive that point home in the coming days and weeks, the school system will distribute paper flyers and add large vinyl banners on their delivery buses to indicate that the food is free and available to anyone 18 and younger.

The message, though, seemed to be getting out into communities more this week than last. Rivers Edge Elementary in Glen Allen distributed just 59 breakfasts during the entire first week of school, for example, but Thursday morning, a food service employee at the school said she’d given out 61 breakfasts there that morning alone.

In addition to the meals distributed curbside and by bus, officials also served nearly 1,260 meals in schools (to students who are attending child-care programs that are using school buildings), according to school system data.

Overall, Hermitage High (1,991 meals), Quioccasin Middle (1,800), Highland Springs High (1,748) and Fairfield Middle (1,718) distributed the most total meals last week, though each school is among the distribution hubs from which multiple school zones are served by bus.

Among schools that aren’t hubs, Ratcliffe Elementary (1,641 meals), Wilder Middle (1,262), Montrose Elementary (1,148) and Harvie Elementary (997) distributed the most.

On the other end of the spectrum were New Bridge (27 meals), Colonial Trail Elementary (76), Tuckahoe Elementary (89) and Kaechele Elementary (94), which distributed the fewest.

Though school system officials will evaluate the distribution numbers on an ongoing basis and possibly make some adjustments to bus routes, it’s highly unlikely that curbside service will end at any school, Jenks said.

“I don’t think that’s even part of the equation,” he said.

Some schools are producing and distributing more meals now than they typically would during a normal school week, he said. But even at those that aren’t, there’s no risk of food service employees losing their jobs if not enough people come to pick up the free meals, Jenks said.

"That’s simply not true," he said of social media posts suggesting employees could be laid off in such a scenario. "We’ll be keeping this up for however long it takes"

The worst-case scenario, he said, would involve transferring employees from one school to another if their original school was distributing a very small number of meals for a sustained period of time.

Perishable food that is prepared and not distributed is discarded, Jenks said. That includes cartons of milk or other sealed, temperature-sensitive items, if they aren’t able to be kept at sufficiently low temperatures, he said. Any non-perishable items that aren’t distributed one day will be restocked and used the next day when possible, he said.