Since the pandemic shutdown 15 months ago, Panther Valley’s cafeteria has provided more than 200,000 take-home meals to school-aged children.

And as the program continues through the summer, they know each meal is delivered at a safe temperature thanks to a van the district purchased with grant funds last year.

“The refrigerated van has helped us tremendously with food safety, especially in the summer,” said Laurie Mount, the district’s cafeteria supervisor.

The cafeteria staff distributes meals in locations in each town in the district twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition, students who attend classes in person take home lunch each day. The district temporarily suspended normal cafeteria service as part of its COVID-19 health and safety plan.

The meals ensure that students get something for breakfast and lunch seven days a week for free. Even before the pandemic, the federal government allowed all Panther Valley students to eat lunch for free because the district has a high number of families who meet the requirements for the federal free lunch program.

The free meals usually include an entree like a cheeseburger, fruit, vegetables and milk, and a breakfast item like a cereal bar.

The program is open to any child under 18 living in Panther Valley School District, whether they are enrolled at Panther Valley or not. Parents can also pick up meals for their children.

When the van is not delivering meals to students around the district, the cafeteria uses it to transport bulk items from the high school to the other school buildings.

The school lunch distributions are scheduled to continue through the summer. In the fall, it’s likely that students will be back in the cafeteria taking part in normal lunch.

Students can’t wait to get back to menu items like pizza and macaroni and cheese. And the cafeteria staff is also excited to serve students face to face once again.

“We want to see kids in the serving line, we want to provide them with a hot meal. This is what we have to do now to get people fed,” Mount said.