August 12, 2024 |
Photo – A school lunch from days past – Bigfoot99 file photo
Medicine Bow elementary school students will receive hot lunches after all.
On Friday, Bigfoot99 reported that a lack of staffing meant that students at the Medicine Bow Elementary School would not be receiving freshly prepared lunches this coming school year. Carbon County School District Two Superintendent Darrin Jennings said the students would instead be provided with prepackaged lunch items.
The issue arose after the previous Medicine Bow Elementary School food service worker resigned at the end of the last school year. With no one to take their place and school beginning soon, Jennings said the lone Medicine Bow teacher would be expected to handle lunch preparations for her five students.
This is no longer the case. The principal of the Hanna and Medicine Bow elementary schools, Jackie Jones, told Bigfoot99 that she found a person to fill the open teacher’s aide position. Medicine Bow Elementary School students will not miss out on hot lunches, said Jones.
Several Medicine Bow residents took to Facebook saying the prepackaged lunches do not meet the federally mandated nutritional needs of elementary school students. The social media posts accused the school district of failing to address the concerns of the rural community.
Principal Jones said the claims made in the social media posts are not true. Jones said she had been searching for a teacher’s aide for the Medicine Bow Elementary School since the end of the previous school year.
Principal Jones said she needed to wait for people to apply for the open positions within Carbon County School District Two. Not only did she hire someone to work at the Medicine Bow school, but Jones also said she found a cook’s helper for the Hanna Elementary School as well. That person will deliver hot lunches made in Hanna to Medicine Bow school students.
Principal Jones said she feels a special connection to the town of Medicine Bow. She said it was never her intention to make the residents feel like their children are less important than those in the rest of the school district.
Principal Jones specifically thanked School Secretary Mary George for helping to ensure that the kids of Medicine Bow received the same lunches the other Carbon County School District Two students.
