Lunches Will Still be Served

Shumae Mestas at LHS

Shumae Mestas from Chartwell food service is handing out lunch today at Lamar High School. She drives her car to the front of the building, sets up a table and fills it with bags for the kid’s brown bag lunch, ready to go when people start to arrive.

“We prepare 450 sandwiches for the lunch and are on site from 11am to 1pm at Lamar High School, Parkview, Washington and Lincoln,” she explained, noticing two young girls walking up 11^th Street towards her location. Five employees prepare the lunch each day for distribution.

Students up to 18 years can pick up a bagged lunch for everyday of the week, although the sites aren’t manned every day. “On Friday, we have sandwiches for that day, but they can also pick up a lunch for Saturday and Sunday to get them through the weekend,” Mestas explained. She said some consideration is being given to offer an extra day or two on Monday so the sites don’t have to be staffed all the time.

She said the high school gets from 50 to 60 lunches each day and Lincoln School, site of the HOPE Center has the majority of students show up.

Today’s menu consists of a ham sandwich, muffin, fruit and a vegetable, juice or milk and yogurt. “We have something different for each day,” she said, adding that the servings will last for as long as the COVID-19 situation continues or until school is officially over for the academic year.

By Russ Baldwin