District Administrator's Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator Over 100,000 lunches were served this past year.  Just for a moment, pause and think of the staffing, groceries, food preparation, serving, and cleaning that is required for 100,000 lunches for kids!  And these numbers don’t include the breakfasts we served.  Serving our students is an incredible responsibility. School food (breakfast and lunch) can be viewed as a “level playing field.”  The River Valley School District works to make sure every student, no matter their means, is provided with nourishment to get them through the day.  Throughout the pandemic, we received incredible support from the USDA Food and Nutrition Department to provide free meals (breakfast and lunch) for all students.  As of yet, the USDA has not received legislative authority to issue new nationwide waivers beyond the 2021-22 school year.  At this time, it appears  as if we will be charging students for this service beginning September 1.  (There is bipartisan support currently for the Keep Kids Fed Act, with a goal of extending the waivers that are due to expire.) Throughout the pandemic, nutritious school meals have contributed to the health and well-being of our River Valley students. Free meals meant higher participation in school lunch, allowing students to have food in their bellies and prepare for the classroom. As it requires tremendous funding, I realize that choices have to be made at the state and federal levels, but this change will again mean families will have to make choices and the regulated and guaranteed nutrition will change. Families will again be encouraged to apply for assistance, if needed, so that their students can have fewer worries about this important part of their day.  Information on applying for free or reduced priced meals can be found on our website here:  https://www.rvschools.org/district/food_serv.cfm The River Valley School District has another worry relating to lunches.  We need to find some incredible caring people to add to our nutrition teams in our buildings.  Yes, we are in need of more lunch ladies … or lads. Our hours are flexible, our teams are friendly, and our needs are great.  I can officially vouch for the giggling I hear coming from each of our kitchens–these folks find a way to have fun and serve their community at the same time.  If you are interested in a food service position, please contact the River Valley District Office, (608) 588-2551, or look for vacancy postings in the newspaper on a weekly basis.    Also, reach out to your friends and family… if you can think of someone that would enjoy some camaraderie for 3 hours a day or a couple days a week, please have them give us a call.   The United States is an incredible country, but I worry that we are not taking care of some of the neediest.  Without being too political, it seems contradictory in our world to have food surplus, school lunch debt, and hungry children.  Let’s continue to seek solutions for the kids in The Valley and find solutions as a community.