The meals on the bus ...

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Sue Buel Elementary kitchen manager Karin Nichols takes food service on the road Tuesday, handing out lunches and breakfasts for children at a bus stop along Highway 18.

Rusty Rae / News-Register##Parents and children gather at the back of a school bus to receive grab-and-go meals from Karen Nichols and other school employees. Food can be picked up at elementary schools or at bus stops.

Rusty Rae / News-Register##Tony Vicknair, former Mac High principal, encourages children to take books as well as food while delivering meals along one of the Sue Buel bus routes. McMinnville School District plans to distribute the free meals while classes are canceled.

More than three dozen people lined up at the Cumulus Avenue bus stop cheered as they saw the distinctive yellow vehicle lumbering toward them Tuesday.
Lunch was served!

“These are my kids,” said Karin Nichols, who has been kitchen manager at Sue Buel Elementary School in McMinnville for 12 years. “I want to hug them, but I know I can’t.”

Nichols and Tony Vicknair, former McMinnville High School principal, hopped off the bus and began distributing food, mindful of social distancing recommended to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

[See also: Student meal delivery around the county.]

Greeting children of all ages, they handed out bags of sandwiches, fruit and milk for that day’s lunch and nutrition bars, fruit and juice for the next day’s breakfast.

“I feel like Santa Claus,” Vicknair said, noting the smiles on faces of both children and parents.

Bus driver Janet Coffman set out a box of children’s books, too, so students could pick something that would entertain them and maintain their reading skills while schools are closed. 

Mac High teachers Erica Zimmerman, who teaches French, and Mary Olsen, who teaches Spanish, were among the crowd at the bus stop.

In addition to bringing their own children, they said they’ve been spreading the word in the neighborhood that the food deliveries are available. It’s a good way for neighbors to get to know each other, as well as to support their kids, they said.

As Nichols, Vicknair and Coffman reboarded the bus, Zimmerman called out, “Thank you! You’re amazing!” 

Nichols waved goodbye, saying, “Come back tomorrow!”

She turned to the others on the bus as it rolled away. “Wasn’t that cool? Wasn’t that the coolest thing?”

At noon Tuesday, McMinnville families were expecting their children to be home from school until the end of March — a two-week spring break, rather than one. But later that day, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown extended the coronavirus-related school closure through the end of April.

Food distribution will continue also.

McMinnville School District and other districts are serving free “grab-and-go” meals while classes are canceled.

Educators want to make sure every child has a nutritional meal, just as they would if school were in session. Some kids might go hungry otherwise, they said.
Federal funding changes made it possible for districts to distribute food to anyone 18 or younger, not just to K-12 students.

“It’s exciting to know we can provide resources for them,” Vicknair said. “We’re doing the right thing.”

Some districts are handing out the sack lunches and, in some places, breakfasts at the schools — the six elementary buildings in McMinnville and Lafayette. Some have distribution sites set up in parks, as well.

And some, like McMinnville, also are taking meals to bus stops so families don’t have to drive to a school.

Two buses leave Sue Buel School each morning, heading for about six stops each. Cafeteria workers and other school workers are on board.

After Nichols described having a great time Monday delivering food and waving to students, others volunteered, including some teachers who are off work because of the school closures.

Vicknair said he wasn’t surprised: School employees love kids and miss their students.

Nichols’ bus was loaded with 75 lunches Monday. She returned to Sue Buel with five; the other bus handed out about the same number, and nearly three dozen families picked up lunches at school.

Tuesday, after the district decided to distribute breakfast as well, Nichols and her crew loaded coolers filled with 125 sets of meals onto each bus. They would return to school an hour later with just a handful.

Coffman steered the bus toward an area east of Sue Buel where some students live. As it neared its first stop, Nichols saw children buzzing around the bus stop on their bicycles and scooters. 

As she climbed out, they ran or pedaled toward her, calling hello to their “lunch lady.” Some had parents along with them; some moms or dads came to pick up lunches for children at home.

Esther Kokoruda came to gather food for her two children, one 16 and the other in elementary school. “Oh, yes, this is helpful, especially with all this craziness,” she said.

Geoff and Kelly Messervy brought their four children to the bus. Daughter Shelby and sons Dakota, Garrett and Nickoli, the latter still in a stroller, accepted lunches, breakfasts and books.

“This is definitely helpful with the unexpected closure,” Kelly Messervy said, particularly with crowds emptying grocery store shelves.

Walking to the bus stop for lunch also gives children something to do, she said. Her kids also have been using activity books and Scholastic Magazine to fill their time, as well as riding their bikes and scooters

The “grab-and-go” meals are “really a great thing,” Messervy said.

Around the county

Grab-and-go meals are available to youths through age 18 while schools are closed.

Some Yamhill County school districts had planned service only for this week, during the early closure prior to a regularly scheduled spring break. With the school closure extended, most are planning to continue grab-and-go meals into April.

Meals are free in the McMinnville district. Some districts hand out food only to students who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals. Check your local district for information.

Amity — Lunches can be picked up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays from the elementary school.

Dayton — Food can be picked up from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; bus route deliveries will start at 9 a.m., with lists of stops on the district’s Facebook page.

McMinnville — Anyone through age 18 can pick up food between 11:30 a.m. and noon weekdays from elementary schools. Food also will be delivered along several bus routes that usually serve elementary students. Check the district’s website, www.msd.k12.or.us/, for a list of routes, stops and approximate times.

Newberg — Check the district’s Facebook page or web page for times and sites.

Sheridan — Meals will be available from noon to 12:30 p.m. at Sheridan High School and Falconer-Chapman School, from noon to 12:15 p.m. in Sheridan City Park, and from 12:20 to 12:35 p.m. at Sheridan City Library.

Willamina School District — On weekdays, lunches will be handed to drivers or walkers at the following locations and times: Willamina Elementary, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; River’s Edge RV Park, 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.; Tina Miller Park, Fendall Hall Community Hall and Raven Loop, 11a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Willamina Post Office and Grand Ronde Museum, 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.; and Wondering Spirit RV Park, 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Yamhill Carlton — Bagged lunches are available to families who sign up via the district’s Facebook page. Lunches can be picked up at the high school cafeteria or Yamhill Carlton Elementary School from noon to 12:30 p.m. weekdays. Lunches also will be delivered to rural bus stops.