Making lunches for 300 elementary school children is not an easy job but a group of women working out of Port Coquitlam's Central elementary school know how to make it fun.
The four drivers and school meal co-ordinators who make, bag and deliver lunches that are distributed daily to 22 elementary schools in School District 43 take their jobs seriously. Their hands don't stop from about 8 a.m. to noon, as they make sandwiches, wash fruit and prepare desserts for children in kindergarten to Grade 5.
They chat as they wash fruit, butter buns and pack paper bags - white for special dietary needs, standard brown for the remainder - into blue plastic tubs and then deliver them.
Their job is doubly challenged by the need to come up with food that kids will eat that is also healthy and they plan these meals well in advance.
Among the meal ideas the ladies turn into tasty reality are chicken and taco salads, cheese sandwiches and wraps. Special desserts are made, such as marshmallow ambrosia, and cookies and cinnamon buns are baked in the commercial oven at the school.
"People think we're just making lunch but, when you break down the whole process from preparation to delivery, there's a lot of components," said Janet Winship, who heads the program.
At left, Bonnie Niven with some of the lunches destined for elementary schools in School District 43.
Their efforts are appreciated by the children, said assistant superintendent Julie Pearce, who oversees the program. She said many of these children might otherwise go without. Approximately half of the lunches are paid for, with parents sending $4 a day to school for the nutritious meals. But the remaining half are paid for with about $100,000 of provincial Community Link funding that is targeted to vulnerable students.
"There's an increase in need, and it's hard to get a hold of," Pearce said.
Bonnie Niven, a 27-year veteran of the program who has been making school lunches for 12 years, said she, too, has seen an increase in the need over the last several years as the school district has grown and the population has diversified.
"It's a very necessary program," Niven said. "It's good to know these kids are getting fed."
Central elementary, where the lunches are made, also has a successful breakfast program where about 20 children come each day for cereal, a toasted bagel and fruit.
The lunch ladies say they are sympathetic towards the struggling families - they see how expensive food has become and are pleased the district can help out in this small way.
Lenore Van Loenen said she especially likes getting to know the students who get the lunches. "There is never any waste," she said, and she knows the kids appreciate the special treats.
But it is a labour-intensive job, which starts when the orders are taken and passed on at the beginning of the month. Winship said approximately 300 lunches are being made daily this month, although that number is expected to drop in December and January, when families that normally can afford to pay drop off.
"It's important for people to know there's such a need," Van Loenen said as she wheeled a dolly of lunches out to her car. Winship and Niven stayed behind to start the next day's meals.
CAN YOU HELP?
Financial donations are always welcome and the lunch ladies say they would like to see the community step up with the donation of a delivery van, which would make the job easier and eliminate wear-and-tear on their cars. To help, email Julie Pearce at [email protected].
