Monday morning, March 23, the Laurel School District began passing out free breakfast and lunch meals to students up to 18 years of age. The Grab & Go meals are available in two locations in the school district: at Laurel Middle School and Laurel High School. The meals will be passed out in a drive through fashion from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Children must be physically present to receive the meals, and the meals are available to any child, even those not enrolled in the Laurel School District. Meals will be given on a first come, first served basis.
At Laurel Middle School, use the Ferril Street car rider loop and for Laurel High School enter the parking lot at the 11th Street side and exit on the 12th Street side. Do not park or exit your vehicle.
Each bag will include lunch and breakfast. Lunches are intended to be eaten immediately or should be stored in the refrigerator within two hours. Please discard any leftovers within three days. Hot foods should be kept hot (entrees >135 degrees) and cold foods (milk & cheeses < 41 degrees) kept cold.
The non-congregate feeding is being offered through an extension of the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) during the COVID-19 Crisis.
According to Laurel School District Public Relations Director Lacey Slay, the school district handed out approximately 1,000 meals on Monday.
“Our cafeteria employees put the meals together and a total of 16 volunteers, eight volunteers at each site, assisted in giving out right at 1,000 meals,” explained Slay. “We anticipate that number to increase through the week.”