Ohio County Schools cook Cheryl Fisher said she is happy to do it for the students.
It was exceptionally hot on Wednesday, and she was sweating. Along with co-workers Darla Garrett and Catharine Bright, she placed meal boxes in countless vehicles of families who expressed sincere appreciation for what she was doing. The parents and children in those vehicles greeted her with smiles, and they thanked her as they pulled away.
“I appreciate it,” Fisher said. “I’m happy to do it for them – the kids and their families.”
Ohio County Schools has provided more than 200,000 meals in 14 weeks as part of the Summer Food Service Program of USDA. That’s quite an impressive number. What makes it even more impressive is that fewer than 20 Ohio County Schools employees managed to make those meals available to countless students and families.
“There is a total of 18 employees, and they’re cooks and drivers,” Ohio County Schools Child Nutrition Director Renee Griffin said. “They are employees who are dedicated, and they truly care about the children. They work in the rain, the heat and the humidity. They are wonderful.”
A Meal Factory
Griffin said the program typically runs for eight weeks, but it was expanded this year out of necessity due to COVID-19. She said employees work 20 hours a week to make the summer program a success. Griffin said the employees work well together, and they are efficient in their efforts.
“It’s a meal-making factory, and they had it down to a science in a couple weeks,” Griffin said. “All the food comes through the central kitchen at Wheeling Park High School. That’s a big undertaking. I make a menu, and staff members prepare the boxes. From there, drivers take the meals to the pickup locations, and the cooks are there to unload the trucks and put the boxes into the vehicles. It’s intense, and they are so busy.”
Griffin said there are many who helped the Child Nutrition Department in providing the summer meals. She said the Ohio County Schools Maintenance Department helped a great deal, and those employees were always willing to help. She said the program would not have been possible without community partners Hil-Dar, Valley Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Dallas United Methodist Church, Oglebay Park, Island Marina Shelter, House of the Carpenter, YMCA, The Salvation Army, Bridge Street Middle School, Warwood School, Grow OV, United Dairy, Jebbia’s, Orchard Park Head Start, Gordon Food Service and the WVU Extension.
“These partnerships are so important,” Griffin said. “We couldn’t provide for our students, families and the community without the support of these amazing organizations and the great people who work for them.”
