HASD’s Meals on the Bus go ’round
Food service, transportation staff delivers food to students
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The Meals on the Bus program through the Hollidaysburg Area School District delivers food to families throughout the borough.
The program began Dec. 4 with a trial of 200 meal deliveries, according to a news release from the district. As of Friday, the district delivered 412 meals to families. It does morning food deliveries to bus stops on Tuesdays and Fridays.
"We appreciate the families who are participating in the programs and we take pride in providing a small piece of familiarity to our students through school meals," said Betsy Snyder, HASD food service director.
The district also offers a meal pickup program, which began Oct. 1. That program provides five breakfasts and five lunches for homeschool and cyber academy students. The pickup program has grown from 75 students to 265 since the school district shifted to full virtual learning.
The TigerPack program is also available at the Hollidaysburg Area Junior High school for families who need additional food for the weekend.
The district is encouraging all families to participate in its meal programs, which it says will help extend a household's food budget and save people time preparing lunches. The United States Department of Agriculture continues to waive the cost for all school meals.
Snyder said the programs also provide food service employees and bus drivers the opportunity to continue in employment with the district.
Becky Kane, food service manager at the junior high, said she is glad to still be working and called it a "blessing" to be able to help those in need right now.
"We had a lady thank us yesterday and tell us, 'You don't know how much this helps. I just lost my job.'" she said. "(Another) woman said that it helps because she works second shift and this is food that her children are able to prepare themselves while she is working."