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!
You can also find updated business resource information and reopening
guidance at grantcountycovid.com.
S189303-1
Geoff Witmer
Geoff Witmer
(541) 620-4260
S188348-1
Cheap pork and beef custom cut
Geoff just
Witmer
like you want it! Call now!
41931
H N
41931
Hwy 395
Long Creek, OR 97856