By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – Unit 5 is helping support families during the pandemic with curbside meals.
The district provides five days worth of free breakfast and lunch to children 18 and under every Wednesday through the USDA.
Parents can pick up meals at Sugar Creek Elementary and Normal Community West high school and from one of the school buses.
Director of Food Services for Unit 5 Joanna Rewerts said the program is a healthy and convenient way for parents to feed their kids.
“Whether the students are at home and their parents are having to provide meals for them or they’re attending camps that don’t provide meals, they can put together our meals and take that to camp with them.”
Families can pull up to the site and tell the food service employees how many meals they need.
Kits are labeled perishable or non-perishable, with menus so families have an idea of what is being served.
Rewerts said about 800 healthy meals are given to children every Wednesday.
Parents find the free meals to be a helpful option they can use for their kids when needed.
“They are not big meal eaters, but they’re big snackers,” said parent Jessica Smith. “It’s great to have everything put in the fridge so that when they’re hungry during the day, they can just go and grab something out and I don’t have to worry about it because I’m working from home.”
Curbside meals will continue until July 28. More information about the curbside meals, including meal schedules and menus can be found on Unit 5’s website.
Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].
