District reflects on summer but looks ahead to new school year

Putnam County School District Food Service served more than 160,000 meals, like these given to local middle school students, during its Summer Nutrition Program.
Positively Putnam FL

Putnam County Food Service is ready for the 2021-2022 school year with COVID-19 protocols and some new programs after serving more than 160,000 meals over the summer.

The district’s Food Service Summer Nutrition Program ended July 29 with 164,596 meals served in June and July. Last year, the department served more than 200,000 meals during the same months.

This year, meals were delivered on five van routes throughout the county and could be picked up at multiple drive-thru locations.

Food Service Director Nikki Hawthorne said the U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibited drive-thru meal pickup in the summer of 2020 and parents and children had to finish their meals on-site.

“We felt like, all things considered, it did really well,” Hawthorne said. “I think families really liked that they didn’t have to pack up the kids and go inside a school.”

Similar to last year, Food Service staff will follow some of the COVID-19 procedures. A lot depends on the schools, but Hawthorne said Food Service plans to sanitize lunchrooms and encourage socially distanced lines. Mobile ordering is still available to sixth through 12th grade students.

The district’s first day of school is Tuesday.

“We’ll be spacing things out with less touchpoints,” Hawthorne said. “We expect to do our full menus.”

The district also received more than $91,210 from a Department of Agriculture grant for farm-to-school planning. It will be an expansion of the current farm program and assist in acquiring local produce and enhancing school gardens, Hawthorne said.

She said the farm most likely will be at Mellon Learning Center, where it can serve the exceptional student education program and younger classes. Several district schools have gardens already and the federal grant is the next step, Hawthorne added. The grant is expected to be implemented by October.

“It’s a national competitive grant and we’re proud we were awarded that money,” Hawthorne said. “It helps us network with local farmers and gives us the tools and resources for it to be great exposure for students,” Hawthorne said.

The district is one of 176 grant recipients in the country and received the highest amount of Florida’s four recipients. The program seeks to get schools to use locally-grown food and so students can connect to agriculture professionals and practices, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release.

“Not only will this give children more nutritious food options in school, it supports local agriculture economies while connecting them to the farms and farmers that grow the food we all depend on,” Vilsack said.