School food program deliveries underway

Delivery of free meals to the households of St. Mary Parish students has begun through the Meals-to-You program and will continue through the school year’s conclusion.
St. Mary Parish School Board Supervisor of Child Nutrition Claire Guarisco said Monday that the first shipment to be received in St. Mary Parish that she knew of was on Thursday.
However, she said the deliveries, which are being made via United Parcel Service, were not all delivered on the same day and not everyone has received their meals.
Guarisco said part of the delay possibly could be that meals are being delivered to a post office box if that was what applicants listed as the mailing address.
“Whatever the mailing address that the parents signed up with, that’s where the meals are going,” she said.
The meals, which don’t have to remain cold or hot, are being supplied through a partnership of the school system along with Baylor University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Part of the requirement was for at least one child in the household to attend a St. Mary Parish public school. Any other children in the household, ages 1-18, who are not school age or attend a private or parochial school, were eligible, too, Guarisco said.
She said 4,104 youngsters in St. Mary Parish are being served by the program, which provides lunches and breakfasts in 10-day supplies. Shipments are being sent out every two weeks through May 25, which marks the end of the local school year.
The program replaced the school system’s Grab-and-Go program, which was administered at three sites in St. Mary Parish for one day before being suspended due to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ stay-at-home mandate. A challenge in securing protective gear for employees also played a role in the suspension.
The Meals-to-You program is serving many more meals than the Grab-and-Go program, which served just under 750 breakfasts and the same amount of lunches in one day, Guarisco said.
“This was an amazing program to be able to reach so many children and keep the children safe and our employees safe,” Guarisco said.
If anyone is having problems with the Meals-to-You program, they can reach Guarisco by calling the St. Mary Parish School Board office at 337-836-9661 and leaving a message for her to return their call. They also can email her at cguarisco@stmaryk12.net.