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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2020)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, May 20, 2020 A3 Cafeteria workers serve up grab-and-go grub District serving 1,800 brown bag meals five days a week By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle As the hallways of Grant Union Junior-Senior High School and Humbolt Ele- mentary remain eerily quiet, bus drivers, education assis- tants and cooks have been reporting to work every day to prepare and deliver nearly 2,000 meals five days a week since the statewide closure of schools to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. On a Thursday morning, the lunch counter was lined with brown bags instead of lunch trays as cafeteria staff filled them with carrot sticks and pulled pork burri- tos while Grant Union head cook Natalie Weaver labeled the last two “vegetarian” for two kids on the Seneca route and double-checked the sack lunches before staff carted the lunches in plastic totes to their vehicles. When Gov. Kate Brown closed schools in early March, Grant School Dis- trict officials scrambled not only to get assignments out to students, but meal plans and delivery routes as well. By mid-March, the dis- trict began offering grab- and-go meals at Humbolt Elementary. In addition, Kim Brown delivers to the Mt. Vernon park and the Seventh Street Complex. Lorrie Stin- nett delivers to Seneca, and Tammy Larkin delivers to the former bowling alley parking lot. Grant Union Princi- pal Ryan Gerry said, before COVID-19, the district only served meals four days a week, but they decided to change to five days a week amid the pandemic. Gerry praised the hard work of the cafeteria and delivery staff. “The cafeteria staff have done an absolutely awesome job during this time of closure in getting meals to the kids in our community,” he said. Weaver said the kids need routine and structure in their lives, and two months ago that was stripped away from them. “Where nothing is normal right now for these kids — they have no normal schedule, Contributed photo From left, Cheyenne Gentis, dishwasher at Humbolt Elementary, Natalie Weaver, head cook at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School, Sharon Flory, bus driver and education assistant, and Shanna Wright, head cook at Humbolt, have prepared and delivered 1,200 lunches and 600 breakfasts for students in the area since the new coronavirus pandemic closed schools across the state. The Eagle/Steven Mitchell The Eagle/Steven Mitchell Jeanette Julsrud, right, picks up a lunch April 29 from Grant Union cafeteria worker Tammy Larkin. no normal routine in their day — this gives them that little bit of a schedule every day,” Weaver said. Shanna Wright, the head cook at Humbolt who works as a delivery driver as well, said the kids have written thank you cards, brought flowers and brought gifts when she has dropped meals off to them. From left, fourth-grader Sam Cole and his sister Hannah, a sixth-grader, pick up their lunches in front of the former bowl- ing alley April 30 from Tammy Larkin. Larkin, an education as- sistant at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School, said deliver- ing the meals allows her to stay in touch with the students. While only one person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Grant County, the second- ary human cost could be stag- gering. Survey results from The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research group, found that nearly 23% of households said they lacked money to get enough food, compared with about 16% at the height of the Great Reces- sion. Households with chil- dren are in even worse shape. Roughly 35% said they did not have enough food, up from 21% during the last recession. Hunger in children can inflict long-lasting cognitive damage and inhibit learn- ing and long-term educa- tional attainment, according to research from the Ameri- The Eagle/Steven Mitchell A kindergartner gave a thank you note to head cook Shanna Wright when she picked up her grab-and-go lunch April 29. Wright said the stu- dents have been grateful for the meals. can Psychological Associa- tion. Malnutrition, according to the study, is also associated with physical illnesses and other chronic conditions, like asthma, iron-deficiency ane- mia and low bone density. An education assistant with the school district said the meals students get at school might be the only food they get all day. Education assistant Tammy Larkin, who delivers to the bowling alley twice a day, said, while she does not see the students she typically worked with directly, she gets to see familiar faces she was used to seeing around campus before COVID-19. “It is nice to kind of just check in on them and see how they’re doing,” she said. Community Marketing Grant Program announced for local businesses Grant County businesses can apply online today Blue Mountain Eagle EO Media Group, an Ore- gon family-owned multime- dia company, has established a Community Marketing Grant Program to assist busi- nesses impacted by COVID- 19 restrictions in the mar- kets served by the company’s 12 newspapers, including the Blue Mountain Eagle. Up to $1,000,000 in match- ing advertising dollars will be available. Recipients of the Community Marketing Grant Program will be awarded a dollar-for-dollar match for print or digital advertising in EO Media Group publications. Community organizations and locally owned and oper- ated businesses are encour- aged to apply to extend their marketing to local resi- dents during this challenging time. Grants are available for a minimum of $250 and max- imum of $10,000 in match- ing funds each month, and will be awarded between May 15 and July 31. Applications The Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Grant County Economic Development and Oregon RAIN staff and volunteers have been working hard to contact all the businesses in Grant County during this COVID-19 crisis. We realize that we have not been able to reach every single business due to closures, out of date contact information, or other reasons. Please know that businesses have not been intentionally left out. We care about all our businesses, as they are crucial to Grant County. Our organizations are available for help during this time to provide assistance to help you and your business survive this crisis. will be accepted starting May 15 and must be submitted online at eomediagroup.com/ marketing-grant. Grants will be reviewed and replied to within one to two days of application. For more information, contact your local EO Media Group publishing partner, the Blue Mountain Eagle 541-575- 0710 or ads@bmeagle.com. Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Friday Sharpe 8am - 5pm Mendy FNP S185394-1 139101 Mendy Sharpe FNP Apppointments available For help or just to receive updated information as it develops on the COVID-19 crisis and available assistance programs, please contact either of the following: Grant County Economic Development: Email info@ grantcountyoregon.net or call 541-575-1555 MEAT PROCESSING Oregon RAIN: Email Stephanie LeQuieu at stephanie@oregonrain.org or call 541-965-1598 Don’t get caught in the shortage! 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