Student meals continued throughout the pandemic

By Ginna Young

Although the last year has thrown schools for a loop, one thing that remained constant, is the meals served to students in the Cadott, Cornell and Lake Holcombe school districts. After the schools shut down amid the COVID-19 health emergency, families were thrown in the dark about what they would do with their kids during the day, how online schooling would work and other concerns.

By serving meals to those 18 and under in the districts, the schools helped take at least one worry from parents’ minds. That doesn’t mean it was an easy fix for the districts, as, over the last year, food service workers have watched prices soar and supply choices dwindle.

“You definitely have to switch gears,” said Deb Zais, Cadott food service supervisor.

When Cadott again shut down for a period of time last November, to-go meals were served out of the high school, for 65 to 100 students daily, during the weekdays. Not only did that create extra work for the food service department, but the state regulations are strict on what can be served to students, so substitutions became challenging to make a complete meal for parents to pick up.

“The ones that did pick up the meals, really, really appreciated it,” said Zais. “What a load off their minds, that their kids had food.”

While Cornell never closed down this school year, it wasn’t all smooth sailing on the food service side, with the district also fighting to get certain items.

“It was kind of difficult,” said Cornell lead cook Teresa Turany.

Because of limiting contact and finding the right items, breakfast in the classroom played a large part in this year’s food operation. Eventually, the students were allowed back in the commons for hot meals, which was celebrated by all at the schools.

“I know the kids got sick of eating that pre-packaged stuff and I don’t blame them.” said Turany.

The district also had a salad bar the entire year at the high school, but had to cut back on toppings for some of the meals at the elementary, as the cooks served the meals to the students.

Turany says the cooks tried to make it fun for the kids, and even went with a Hawaiian theme in the commons around Christmas.

As for Lake Holcombe, the district also saw a shutdown around late fall of last year, which prompted some fast menu changing so the meals could be delivered to coolers at the end of students’ drives. Fruits, vegetables and proteins were individually packaged for the delivery, with lunch that day, as well as a breakfast for the next day.

“Everything that they got normally at school, they got in their lunch sacks,” said Amy Linskey, Lake Holcombe food service director.

Linsky says it wasn’t easy to come up with enough balanced meals throughout the closures, but that the district managed and is still trying to overcome the shortage of supplies.

“We had that all year long and it’s actually gotten worse, now that some of the schools in Wisconsin are opening up again,” she said, adding that anything with chicken, turkey or pork, such as corn dogs, are in short supply. “You may be able to get them in a store, but you can’t get them through our suppliers.”