By Amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer
You wouldn’t expect children to be running to a school bus unless they were late.
But children in Hillsborough County have been flocking to one particular bus as if it were an ice cream truck.
This summer, Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Student Nutrition Services has launched a new initiative — a food bus — to feed migrant students throughout the community. Two of the four bus stops are located within the Plant City community to serve breakfast and lunch. The program, open Mondays through Thursdays, will continue through Aug. 9.
“It’s pretty satisfying to see the kids eating,” server Terri Krage said. “They run up to us with smiling faces.”
“It’s basically taking our summer food program a little further,” said Ginain Grayes, nutrition marketing and communication manager. “We want to continue to feed the children of Hillsborough County.”
Once the bus arrives, a tent is set up outside. Any child under 18 can pick up a boxed meal, which includes a sandwich, milk and snacks. Children also can eat on the bus, which is air conditioned.
“I like the free food,” one student said while she munched on a ham sandwich. “It’s cold. I like to visit with my friends.”
“It’s like a social hour,” Grayes said, adding that the bus driver will turn on the radio for the kids.
“It’s fun, it’s different,” D. Sutton, the bus driver, said. “You get a chance to talk to the kids. I’m learning a little bit of Spanish in between serving lunches.”
A bus also stops in Wimauma and Ruskin in addition to Plant City and Dover.
On the first day the bus made its rounds, there were 65 breakfasts and 108 lunches served. The second day there were 102 breakfasts and 145 lunches served total. During the first week, the food bus fed an average of 97 breakfasts and 163 lunches daily to the four sites. Grayes expects the numbers to increase.
The program is designed to bring healthy meals to those who are not near an existing summer food program site, which includes 95 schools and several parks throughout the county. Children don’t have to be enrolled in the school to get a meal. Last year, there were 243,983 breakfasts served, 335,274 lunches served and 133,088 snacks served at the open school sites.
For more about the summer food program or to find an open site, visit summerfoodflorida.org.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
PLANT CITY FSTOPS
RCMA Dover
3238 San Jose Mission Road, Dover
Breakfast: 8 to 8:30 a.m.
Lunch: 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
RCMA Westside Village
3102 Sammonds Road, Plant City
Breakfast: 9 to 9:30 a.m.
Lunch: Noon to 12:30 p.m.“>http://ivedasolution.com/oformit-kreditnuyu-kartu-renessans-bank.php