Loveland School kids started their fourth week at home since COVID-19 response shut down Ohio school buildings

By: Chuck Gibson

LOVELAND, OH  (April 6, 2020)– Volunteers are making sure Loveland school children are being fed while schools are closed.  

Volunteers arrive early in the morning to begin preparing meals (Photo credit Susanne Quigley)

Kris Tracy, LCSD Food Services Director has been coordinating efforts to receive, prepare, and deliver food to kids in need since the schools closed. With the help of volunteers and coordinated efforts with Loveland school partner NEST, they served 7,632 meals in just the first two weeks. Last week, another 4,716 meals were prepared and delivered to kids bringing the three week total to 12,348 meals for the kids.

 “Kris Tracy and the volunteers are preparing food for around 275 children per day,” said Evangeline DeVol, Executive Director of NEST.

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Observing social distancing restrictions has forced a cutback of the number of volunteers who can be in any one place at a time. Despite the challenge, volunteer response has been excellent with about 235 volunteers donating nearly 1,500 hours through the first three weeks – actually 1,479 hours according to NEST.

NEST is parntered with LCSD providing donated food items and volunteers to help prepare and deliver meals to Loveland kids (Photo Chuck Gibson) 

No one is certain about the possibility of schools reopening in Ohio at all this school year. The current order is for ALL OHIO SCHOOL BUILDINGS to remain CLOSED thru the end of April. The challenge for the Loveland City School District, NEST and Kris Tracy is determining how they’ll continue feeding the children for any extended closure without exhausting their resources or the NEST Summer Program resources for the children. Meetings of LCSD administration, staff, and community partners continue as they sort out the details of any and all options to continue caring for the kids. Their number one priority continues to be keeping the kids safe, educated, and fed nutritious healthy meals.

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“Thanks to all our donors for their generosity in both food & money,” DeVol said. “Thanks to the wonderful Loveland School District kitchen staff we work alongside every day. They have been very patient with us.”

Click here for updates from Loveland Schools

Click here for updates from NEST  Also check social media posts on their Facebook pages for additional information on how you can help.