By Jan Wondra Ark Valley Voice
Buena Vista School District Elementary School Counselor Michelle Cunningham says there is direct connection between nourishing students’ hunger and learning, as the district deals with the impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
“Our busiest day is the day we hand out food and the next week’s academic materials,” says Cunningham, about the low-income free and reduced lunch program that has grown from 40 low-income children to more than 400 in a month. “Regular days we give out 325 lunches. It grows to more than 425 on packet hand out day.”
Michelle Cunningham. Buena Vista School District School Counselor handing out lunches to students. Photo by Jan Wondra
District families have been hit hard, with hundreds of them out of work as small businesses closed. This past week, many of them got their last paycheck.
Cunningham spends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. five days a week handing out the lunches, addressing real food insecurity.
“As counselors, we know brains work best when physiological needs are met. Its benefits go beyond food, said Cunningham. “I’m out where I connect with families. We give them a warm smile, a ‘how are things going’.. It’s a highlight of the kids’ day — a daily field trip to go get your lunch! This check in connection can make it easier for them to ask for help.”
“The hardest thing is we miss our kids so much. Even in this drive-by setting, we crave the personal connection and the school day community. We miss each other.”
“I am so proud of the collaborations and the coming together of this community,” said Cunningham, when asked what has been learned during this crisis. “I can’t imagine doing things differently. The school board, the business owners, the community leaders, the churches, the school’s lunch ladies — everyone is stepping up in so many ways to support each other.”
The silver lining, said Cunningham, is strengthened contact with parents. “I have gotten more contact with parents and they are so grateful. With the lunches I get face time with most of our students. I worry about those up by Granite and Ranch of the Rockies* – we have drivers dropping off lunches to them.
Another unexpected benefit of the lunch program – the district began an evening meal program for families hardest hit, which brings in local restaurants to make meals.
*Editor’s Note: these ruggedly beautiful hamlets are respectively 17 and 20 miles away from Avery Parsons Elementary School.
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This story is a part of COVID Diaries, powered by the Colorado News Collaborative, or COLab. Ark Valley Voice joined this historic collaboration with more than 20 other newsrooms across Colorado to better serve the public.
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