Bags that typically hold ice now hold enough food for a week—seven lunches and seven breakfasts—for every child that needs one. Plus, a gallon of milk. The food is paid for up front by Elmore County schools but will be reimbursed at the end of the month by the USDA.

"Over half of our kids are on free or reduced lunch," said Superintendent Richard Dennis in Elmore County, a mostly rural area with just under 12,000 students.

They knew they'd need to keep feeding their students even if schools closed.

"This is massive," Dennis said. "We're only doing it one day a week but we're providing families with groceries for basically two meals a day for seven days per child."

With schools closed statewide to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and with 375,000 of Alabama's children depending on public schools for as many as two meals a day, Elmore continues to expand meal service, even while others across the state have shut down.

Since March 16, the small district has served 540,676 meals, counting Monday's meals.

While most schools continued to provide meals to children during the initial closures through April 3, many have now stopped, faced with a decision that pitted public health concerns against the immediate needs of small children. It's a decision that can leave families stranded and dependent on local food banks and churches.

Related: Birmingham city, Jefferson county schools restart meals for students

Rural areas have been particularly hard-hit, and food banks are struggling to keep up with demand.

While most school officials cited public health concerns, Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey told attendees of a town hall last week that some districts closed down because they couldn't find enough workers.

Elmore County Child Nutrition Program Director Cacyce Davis said about 50 of the 100 lunchroom staff are working to serve meals in the county.

Davis is thankful for the staff who have been able to help. "Honestly, if they chose to stay at home, they could have just stayed at home. But they're choosing to take care of our kids."

"There are reasons why they don't feel like they could do this," she said. Some have problems with childcare, and some have family members at home that might be at high risk if they catch COVID-19.

And catching the coronavirus is a worry, she said. "We've had times where people have gotten scared. There's been a lot of prayer. We're just working to be the hands and feet of Jesus and meet the needs."

In addition to teachers, principals and lunchroom workers, the county's EMA is coordinating volunteers from churches and others who want to help, Dennis said. Around 65 people, in addition to school staff, teachers and principals, volunteered on Monday. Volunteers have their temperatures taken and are run through the school's background check system before being put to work.

The stress caused by the coronavirus and the stay-at-home orders worries Davis. "With what's going on in the economy," Davis said, "honestly you can't spend much time in our lines in talking with parents and keep a dry eye. The impact this is having on families is substantial."

Having enough food to serve is another concern. Davis said they ran out of food at two school sites once over the past month. "The first week, we served 1,041 students." By the end of the day Monday, they served 8,234 children, an eight-fold increase.

While that increase worries her, they continue to adapt and expand. "This is when we pray for fishes and loaves," she said.

Another challenge, Davis said, is getting enough of the types of food they need to use when packing meals for a week at a time. "No one was ready for this," she said. "The type of food we're serving now is completely different from what we were serving during the school year."

Packing food starts a full week ahead of Monday's distribution. This week, her crew prepared enough food for 8,600 students countywide, up from 8,000 last week, anticipating a higher demand after a neighboring county discontinued serving meals.

Related: Alabama schools chief worried about mental health, meals, internet access for students

Davis said she’s still new at feeding people on this scale, with her only experience close to this was feeding first responders for nearly a week after a tornado struck Wetumpka in early 2019 when they used the high school as a shelter.

CNP Manager Tiffany Evans has worked every day since schools closed. "I know a lot of kids that the school meal is their only meal," Evans said. "We have to feed these babies. That's why I'm here."

The frozen food that was handed out Monday included grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, quesadillas, burritos, and chicken sliders, among others. All of the food meets nutrition guidelines, Davis said, and is similar to the food they serve to students during the summer.

On Monday morning, Davis and her crew of 25 volunteers at Wetumpka Middle School, one of five schools where meals were being served, started around 7 a.m., moving food prepared inside the lunchroom to staging areas under the tents.

Next up was loading four of the eight buses sent across the county, which make multiple stops, with enough food from the middle school to serve between 120 and 200 meals each.

Not all families would be able to make it to one of the five schools serving meals to pick up food, Davis said, so bus drivers and transportation workers identified the stops that served a lot of children. "The need has doubled in the neighborhoods since last week," Davis said. "They know where we'll be, so they're coming for help."

Just before the line opened at 10 a.m., volunteers got their final instructions: put the food in the back seat or the trunk, and if someone in the car reaches for the food, put the food on the cart and push the cart to the car for them to take the food. Then the cart must be sanitized.

Volunteers were wearing gloves provided by the school, and some wore masks they brought with them. Stickers asking "please stay six feet away" were also worn by volunteers, and they called each other out if they got too close to those in line or talked with those in cars.

A few minutes later, the line of around 600 cars started moving, trunks popped open, and volunteers started loading provisions for the number of children written on green paper displayed through the windshield.

Important information regarding Monday, April 6th's Curbside Meal Pick-Up. Posted by Elmore County Child Nutrition on Thursday, April 2, 2020

Shortly after the line of cars started moving, a teenager walked up and asked for food. Davis made sure he got a box of food and sent him on his way.

The line was efficient, with cars stopping first at a station for milk and frozen food and a second time for non-perishable foods and fruit. It took just over a minute for one car to stop at both stations. Volunteers served three cars at a time at each of the two stops.

The method has evolved, Davis said, with each week getting more efficient as workers learn the best way to serve the masses and keep the line moving. When service first started in March, they were doing three days a week. "That was too physically demanding," she said. So they moved to serving only on Mondays, with food for a week.

Children don't have to be in the car—a requirement waived by federal officials—but she is taking names of children that are being served.

Wetumpka Middle School CNP Director Amanda Danford has been at the middle school for 11 years and said she'd never seen anything like the effort underway. "I'm glad that our county can do it for our community."

Danford said she knows they are serving people beyond just their local community, but that's okay. "It's a countrywide pandemic." She said beyond having trouble getting workers, other school districts might struggle with having the money to start a program like theirs.

"You do have to have the money up front to start the investment in it," Danford said. And even though schools get reimbursed at the end of the month, but if the money isn't there to buy enough food, the program can't run right now.

Wetumpka Middle School Principal Loukisha Brooks walked the line of cars, directing traffic, and two PE teachers helped direct cars, too. The traffic pattern has changed from week to week, with adjustments

Brooks, in her first year as principal, said she was thankful for the volunteers. "The majority are school staff," she said. "We know the people in this area, and we have servant hearts, from the people in the central office down to the school level."

Christi Mann is the promotion and special events coordinator for Wind Creek Casino's Montgomery location and is coordinating volunteers from the casino, which has a hotel in Wetumpka. Asked why they are working with the school system to serve meals, Mann said, "We're a part of the community, they're a part of the community. It's family to us." Just under 20 volunteers from Wind Creek served meals across Elmore County on Monday.

Jared Stouffer, another volunteer and a youth pastor in the area, loaded milk onto buses and moved boxes from one place to the next. Davis said Stouffer is in high demand because of his strength. Stouffer said he enjoyed volunteering and seeing everyone. Plus, he said, "Meeting needs, practically, is my jam."

Elmore County Schools chief financial officer Jason Mann was moving milk and boxes alongside Stouffer. His 5-year-old daughter, Carlie, volunteered, too, helping greet people and tape food packages.

Lakeesa Butler works with the Council for Substance Abuse and works with students at the middle school. “Once the schools were closed down and we couldn’t be in the classroom,” Butler said, they had to figure out how they could still interact with students.

Lisa Crownover teaches algebra and geometry at Wetumpka High School and said she missed kids. She worked the line, and when asked why she was doing this, she said, "I'm so used to being on my feet all the time and seeing people and seeing kids, I have to do this. I have to expend some energy."

Food was distributed at the school for more than two and a half hours. People were patient, even though the line was long. One parent said she had been in line over an hour, and though at that point she had just gotten within sight of the tent area where the food was being loaded into cars, it was worth the wait.

One of the middle school’s buses returned to pick up and give out 20 more meals. By the end of the day, nearly 16,200 meals serving 1,221 children were handed out from the eight buses across the county.

In total, on Monday, 115,276 meals were provided for 8,239 children at five schools and through eight school buses.

CNP Director Davis was relieved that her staff did not run out of food Monday, but she knows the need will continue to grow. She worries about being able to provide enough if more of the surrounding school districts stop serving meals.

For now, they’ll keep packing meals and feeding students. Davis said she’s thankful not only for the volunteers but for district leaders who support the herculean effort.

Asked why feeding his community is important to him, Superintendent Dennis said simply, “I grew up poor. I know what it is to appreciate a meal.”

And as one of the lowest funded school systems in the state, Dennis said there is another, more selfish reason. “If we’re not feeding them," he said, "we’re losing money. Why wouldn’t you want to feed them? If nothing else, be selfish, make money.”

Moving forward, Davis said she is growing concerned about food availability. Without enough pre-packaged foods, her staff has to package the food themselves, adding at least a day’s work to preparation.

Even with the added worry, Davis is taking requests. “Our kids are missing crispitos,” she said. “They’re asking for them.” She’s going to try to make enough and package their own to distribute in a couple of weeks.

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