MISSOULA — Missoula County Public Schools, with the help of Beach Transportation, have started their meal program for students while schools are closed due to COVID 19.
MCPS and Beach employees loaded up buses at 10 a.m. and drove to different schools across Missoula to hand out lunches to any students under the age of 18.
Each brown paper sack is filled with breakfast and lunch for each student and delivery starts at 11:10 a.m. and runs until 12:20 p.m. The idea mimics MCPS’s summer meals program with more pickup sites added on thanks to Beach offering up their buses to transport meals between schools.
It was an all hands-on deck type effort to get all the meals on the bus Monday morning including, the help of MCPS superintendent Rob Watson.
MCPS Supervisor of Food Nutrition Stacey Rossmiller said she wasn’t sure if there would be enough people available to make the program happen but after this morning those fears are gone.
"I can honestly say right now that Missoula County Public school staff has rocked it, they pulled together," Rossmiller said. "I put out an email last Friday asking my folks to help. Another one went out for parents to help and I was really worried about having it staffed but I ended up with more than enough people which is fantastic. I can truly say that in a time like this the community pulls together, our staff pulls together and it just it kind of restores your faith in humanity."
MCPS plans on continuing the service as long as schools are closed and you can check their website for pick up sites.
MCPS requests that only one person from each family pick up the meals at a pick up site or a bus stop for youth under 18 in your household. When picking up meals at a school site or a bus stop and people are lso asked to maintain a six foot distance from others waiting in line for meals.
Anyone who misses a scheduled bus delivery cab can pick up lunch at their local school.
Estimated lunch pick up times:
- Big Sky 12:20
- Hellgate 12:15
- Sentinel 11:35
- Meadow Hill 11:25
- Porter 11:25
- Washington 11:10
- Charlo 11:20
- Lewis & Clark 11:15
- Rattlesnake 12:20
- Paxson 11:27
- Lowell 12:10
- Hawthorne 12:00
- Franklin 12:05
- J.R.S. 11:25
- Russell 11:15
