August 9, 2024 |
Photo – Drawing of school lunch – Bigfoot99 file photo
Medicine Bow elementary school students will not receive hot lunches this school year due to a lack of staffing.
Medicine Bow residents are up in arms about the lunches being prepared for the upcoming school year. Elementary school students in the small town will not be served freshly cooked lunches. Instead, students will be provided with various prepackaged snack items, such as cheese sticks and frozen peanut and butter sandwiches. Meanwhile, Saratoga Elementary School students, for example, will be served cheeseburgers, tacos, and chicken wings.
Carbon County School District Two Superintendent Darrin Jennings explained that the previous Medicine Bow Elementary School food service worker resigned at the end of the last school year. With school beginning soon, Jennings said one teacher will now be expected to handle lunch preparations for five students.
Jennings said the Hanna Elementary School kitchen is also short staffed, meaning the Hanna school is unable to spare someone to cook for students in Medicine Bow. The district superintendent said he is searching for employees to work in the kitchens of both the Hanna and Medicine Bow elementary schools.
Being short staffed, Jennings said the Medicine Bow school has had to resort to prepackaged lunch items. The district superintendent said the food is catered to student’s tastes and meets federal school lunch guidelines.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, elementary school students must be offered at least one half-cup serving of fruits or vegetables with every school lunch. Meals must also include a source of protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, or nuts. Fat-free or low-fat milk must also be served.
In June, the USDA presented Carbon County School District Number Two with the Innovative School Lunch Makeover Award for “introducing new scratch-made recipes such as Roasted Potatoes, Homestyle Chicken Soup with Vegetables, and Bison Meatballs to improve meal quality by reducing sodium levels.”
Jennings said the staffing shortage makes it impossible to offer the same freshly cooked meals to Medicine Bow Elementary School students. The district superintendent said students are always free to bring lunches from home.
Several Medicine Bow residents have taken to Facebook to say the prepackaged lunches do not meet the federally mandated nutritional needs of elementary school students. Jennings offered to meet with residents in person to discuss possible solutions.
Medicine Bow residents have offered to come to the elementary school and cook lunch for the students. Jennings said federal law limits who may legally prepare and serve school lunches. The district superintendent invited residents to apply for open positions at the school.
In the end, Jennings said his hands are tied due to the lack of staff. He asked people to apply for the numerous openings within Carbon County School District Number Two.
With only five students attending this year, rumors began to circulate about closing the school and bussing students to Hanna. At the end of the last school year, Jennings and Principal Jackie Jones met with Medicine Bow parents to discuss the fate of the elementary school. Jennings said as long as students are enrolled and the classroom is staffed, he doesn’t intend to close the school.
Jennings asked Medicine Bow residents to call him at 326-5271 to schedule an in-person meeting to discuss their concerns about the elementary school.
