A volunteer distributes lunch at the Haines school. March 23, 2020. (Claire Stremple/KHNS)
The Haines Borough and Skagway school districts will both offer distance learning using online tools while campuses are closed. But schools serve up more than assignments and both districts will also offer lunches for pick up as well.
Haines Superintendent Roy Getchell said the district saw the campus closure coming a few weeks ago, so kitchen staff placed food orders to be prepared. The district got a waiver from the Departments of Education and Agriculture to offer free lunches to any child.
“Because our student population is over fifty percent free and reduced [lunches], all children through the age of 18 and our current students, if they’re above that, are eligible for a lunch at no charge, even if they normally pay a reduced fee or the full price,” Getchell said.
Younger siblings, Chatham district students, and home-school students are included. The district began service on Monday afternoon. The sack lunches are available for pick up on weekdays between 11:30 and 12:30 at the Haines School and between noon and 12:30 at the Klehini Firehouse. Staff will deliver the lunches with gloved hands through a car window.
For the first day the school’s kitchen staff made 300 lunches, but demand was only half that. The school encourages parents to sign up for lunches online so they can prepare the correct amount. There is a link on Glacier Bears Facebook page and a link on the school website. Parents can also access it in Bloomz.
Lunches will be available for pickup at the Skagway school for students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.
