Over the past year, a handful of dedicated school nutritionists helped feed the children of the Estes Valley through a pandemic, forest fires and the evacuation of the entire town of Estes Park.
“From March 2020 through March 2021, we collected 126,933 free meals,” said Theresa Montgomery, nutritional services coordinator for the Estes Park School District. “The federal government intervened after the COVID hit and we applied as an emergency feeding center. That’s why we’ve been through everything here. “
This is the first year Montgomery has been responsible for nutritional counseling for the district. Prior to that, she ran the high school kitchen.
“From March to August 2020, we delivered groceries to Glen Haven, Storm Mountain, Pinewood Springs, Allenspark, Drake and five stations in Estes Park,” she explained. “I drove about 100 miles a day when we delivered these free meals twice a week.”
She called the experience “actually heartbreaking. You can see how many people are in need here. In high school, we’d have an average of 80 lunches a day in the normal year. Now we’re at 200 a day in high school only. With the amount of children eating meals, we must ask ourselves whether these children would go hungry. “
The type of food distributed in the district cafeterias is slightly different than usual. Montgomery described them as much simpler meals, often individually wrapped, like burritos and hot bags. The spices and fruits have to be portioned, which takes a lot of time. Sandwiches – from burgers to peanut butter to jelly – need to be individually wrapped.
The food continues to meet the guidelines of the Colorado Department of Education and the US Department of Agriculture.
“Children can eat for free until the end of September,” said Montgomery. “This applies to everyone up to the age of 18 and there are no requirements.”
In addition to the feeding of elementary, middle and high school students, the employees of the nutrition service organize a drive through pick-up for distant learners once a week.
In the summer, the transit service for needy children began with around 20 meals. In the heyday, the transit looked after more than 600 children per week. The cafeteria staff also provided meals to the boys ‘and girls’ club.
COVID is still affecting the way meals are served in person at school. In elementary school, children in kindergarten through second grade eat lunch in their classrooms to ensure that these young students are appropriately socially distant. Third through fifth grade students come to have lunch in areas in the cafeteria and gym.
May 7th is National School Lunch Heroes Day. Montgomery wanted to make sure the people of the Estes Valley Ward saw the Herculean work this woman did during this difficult time.
“I want people to know how much time these dedicated people spent endlessly,” said Montgomery. “None of my ladies are assigned to work through the summer, but they rose and did. We worked with four people, which is just amazing. You wanted to be here. I never had to ask. When they saw the need in the church, it was very instructive. “
Montgomery described her staff as selfless, loving women who look after the children in Estes Park.
“I don’t think people realize how often we spend our own money to feed a child,” she added.
