CCSD announces lunch plan

Published 9:35 am Saturday, July 18, 2020

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At Wednesday’s School Board meeting, Chambers County School District Superintendent Dr. Kelli Hodge announced there would be changes in the way lunches are served.

Additional information was released on Thursday.

“Because enrollment and the size of lunchroom space vary widely from school to school, we have put together several different meal distribution options specifically designed to maximize safety at each campus,” Child Nutrition Program Director for Chambers County Schools Montray Thompson said in a press release.

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Students with the lowest enrollment, Five Points, J.P. Powell Middle School, Eastside Elementary, LaFayette Lanier and Bob Harding Elementary School, will be the least affected. Students at those schools will be able to eat lunch in the cafeteria since they are able to social distance themselves adequately.

“At these particular locations, students will have the opportunity to go to their lunchroom and eat as they have always done,” Thompson said. “The difference will be maintaining the recommended guidelines for mitigating the spread of COVID-19. For example, each student will be required to wear a mask from the time they leave their classroom until they receive their food tray and are seated at a table. Social distancing will also be practiced during the time students are in the cafeteria.”

At Fairfax and Huguley Elementary Schools, students in pre-k through first grade will be served their meals in the classroom, while second grade through fifth grade will pick up their meals, but still eat in the classroom.

At W.F. Burns Middle School, students will rotate. One week a class will eat in the cafeteria, while other students will eat in their classrooms.

At both Valley and LaFayette High Schools, students will pick up their lunches from the lunchroom and return to their classrooms every day.

“In every school using the classroom dining option, all students will be required to exercise the uniform safety practices of wearing masks and social distancing while moving to and from the cafeteria,” Thompson said.

Nutrition personnel will sanitize the serving line and tables between use.

Just like the back-to-school plan, the lunchroom plan is a draft and can be changed when new information becomes available.

“This is only the first phase of a working plan,” Thompson added. “We will continue following the guidelines from state health officials as they emerge and will adjust our strategy accordingly.”