1,400 Meals Served Daily at North Windy Ridge

During the pandemic, serving meals has been an essential part of meeting student needs and supporting learning.

By: Benjamin Rickert, BCS Communications

Nutrition staff prepared over 1,400 meals each day at North Windy Ridge Intermediate School this week, contributing to the more than 518,000 meals served by Buncombe County Schools since March 16.* During the pandemic, area children continue to receive breakfast and lunch meals Monday through Friday through curbside pickup at designated schools and a number of ‘yellow bus’ neighborhood sites. Since all North Carolina schools closed for in-person instruction by executive order last month, serving meals has been an essential part of meeting student needs and supporting effective learning.

Nutrition manager Shannon Webb at North Windy Ridge Intermediate School.

“It’s all about feeding the children,” said nutrition manager Ms. Shannon Webb. “We’re preparing hot and nutritious meals for the children of the North Buncombe district.”

The 24-year veteran in school nutrition service was calm on Wednesday as she led a sizable team including staff from North Buncombe Middle, Weaverville Primary, Barnardsville Elementary, and her school’s resource officer. Wearing protective gloves and masks, the team prepared meals in the kitchen and placed them in paper bags that lined the tables inside the cafeteria. Outside, families were served through open car windows.

“We’re a great team together and I couldn’t do it with them,” said Webb. “The kids have been very grateful and appreciative.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, meals are served Monday through Friday to children ages 2-18 at school and community sites countywide. Breakfasts are served from 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. and lunches are served from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. During lunch on Friday, weekend meal boxes will also be sent home for students ages 2-18. Meal sites and up-to-date information can be found at Response.BuncombeSchools.org.

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*At the time of this article's initial release, 475,000 meals had been counted, including a portion of the day's breakfasts. Following lunch on April 24, 2020, the total meal count reached more than 518,000 and this figure was updated.

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