Del Norte Unified will resume its school bus meal delivery program when students return from the summer. File photo: Jessica Cejnar

Summer may have been a chance for kids to relax after a trying school year, but Del Norte Unified School District’s Nutrition Services Staff, along with eight school bus drivers, didn’t take a break.

Instead, they plunged straight into the Seamless Summer Food Program, serving 88,396 meals to students in about eight weeks — nearly 35,000 more than the previous year. According to Kravitz, the summer program was largely a continuation of the emergency food program toward the latter part of the school year.

Kravitz, her staff and DNUSD’s school buses delivered 200,000 meals during the COVID-19 emergency school closure between March and June.

“Probably a major contributor to our meals increase was we were able tor un four buses under a grant we received from Gina Zottola and the Wild Rivers Community Foundation,” Kravitz said. “Buses were able to reach out to areas in our community that traditionally are not as well served in the summer such as Hiouchi and Gasquet. We also had a bus that focused solely on Klamath, from the Resighini area all the way north into the Glen and throughout the town of Klamath. Buses alone accounted for almost 39,000 meals.”

According to Kravitz, a $30,000 grant from the Wild Rivers Community Foundation paid for the bus drivers. She said along with herself, 10 Nutrition Services staff and a delivery driver also helped ensure kids were fed this summer.

They delivered two-days worth of meals — breakfast and lunch — on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, Kravitz said. This included adding breakfasts and lunches for Saturday, which also contributed to the increase in the overall number of meals served.

In addition to delivering meals to students, DNUSD offered curbside meal service at Open Door Clinic, the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods and at three local apartment complexes. The district also served meals to students at Bess Maxwell Elementary School.

“I’d like to thank our community partners, Open Door, the Family Resource Center, Totem Villa Apartments, Summer Park and Hidden Creek Apartments, as well as the nutrition and transportation staff for their hard work,” Kravitz said. “As well as the Wild Rivers Community Foundation for their grant, which was literally our savior this summer.”

Now, Kravitz and her team are looking toward the first day of school, which is expected to start with online learning Aug. 31.

The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees decided on a phased approach to the 2020-21 school year. School will open in Phase 1, which involves students learning via the Internet, through Sept. 11. DNUSD students will then transition into Phase 2, which includes small groups coming to campus for intervention and specialized services.

The DNUSD Board of Trustees is expected to discuss a revised 2020-21 calendar at its meeting Thursday.

Meal service during first few weeks of school will be nearly identical to what it was between March and June, Kravitz said.

“We have gone ahead and put together the bus routes — they would be the same six bus routes we were operating at the same times and the same number of stops when school was closed March through June,” she said. “Also we’ll have curbside pickups much like we did during our emergency school closure located at Redwood and Smith River schools, Mary Peacock, Pine Grove, Joe Hamilton and Bess Maxwell. Curbisde will be from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. daily.”

More on Nutrition Services meal program during the school year, including its food delivery schedule, is available on its website.

The DNUSD Board of Trustees, which also serves as the County Board of Education, will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday. To participate via Zoom, click here.

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