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Every day in the teachers’ lounge, brown paper bags cover every square inch of available counter surface on six large tables.
The school grab bags are filled with food to the brim, just waiting for kids to come and get them. COVID has thrown a wrench in many things. For some students, one of those things is their ability to eat three meals a day. So, the NS lunch ladies fill hundreds of grab bags every week for the students who may need them.
“It’s a lot of work,” said lunch lady Melanie Smith. “But we try to make it good for the kids.”
Their hard work is paying off, as about 60 percent of students take a bag once a week. In a recent NS times survey, 10 percent of the student body indicate that they take a grab bag every day, 21 percent indicate that they take one a couple times a week, 29 percent say that they take about one each week, and 40 percent indicate that they take no grab bag at all.
The administration is pleased with the amount of grab bags taken, but there are a lot of kids that need them that still don’t take them.
“I think it’s great,” said assistant principal Natalie Stansfield. “I wish we had more students [come and get the grab bags] because I know there is a need.”
Although there definitely is a need, a lot of the kids that take the grab bags just don’t need the food. So, the grab bags end up getting thrown in the trash.
“I know for a fact a lot of kids throw those away,” said freshman Benjamin Thompson, “and that is just wasteful. It’s food—something somebody could use, somebody could eat.”
One of the reasons why this is happening is because of the quality of the food inside the grab bags. A lot of the students who don’t need the food don’t want to eat it because there’s better things that they could snack on.
But the lunch ladies don’t just give you the “bad stuff” because they want to. There is a reason they put the foods no one likes in there: government regulation.
“We have to give out certain fruits and certain vegetables,” said lunch lady Melanie Smith. “I think a lot of kids don’t realize that, or don’t know that.”
With kids, it’s hard to get what they like, but the lunch ladies try to give the kids what they want.
“I wish there was a better solution,” said Stansfield. “But I love the take-home bags on Thursdays, because I know the kids who get them appreciate them.”
The majority of the school doesn’t know what to do with the Thursday grab bags. But, there is a reason the school gives them out to everyone and not just kids that need them.
“I think they blend now,” Stansfield said. “With everyone having a Thursday grab bag, they don’t feel like they stand out.”
But even with everyone taking the grab bags, there are actually still a lot more. So, if you’re in need, don’t be afraid to come get the extra grab bags.
“If you need any of these grab bags,” Stansfield said, “come and get them. They are available for you.”
