While teachers and students enjoyed their first day off from school during April vacation on Monday, Donna Wheeler was hard at work.
Wheeler, cook at Abbot-Downing School, was preparing chicken quesadillas in the kitchen of Christa McAuliffe School for the 150 kids who rely on free meals from the school each weekday.
With many parents out of work and caring for children at home, the need for meals from school has been greater, officials say. That need still exists during April vacation, even when most district staff are on break.
Every day, breakfast and lunch meals are prepared in different schools in the district and transported by district buses to around 30 different locations throughout the city where families can go to pick them up. Any child under the age of 18, including those who have not yet reached school age, are eligible for free meals.