A lot of schools have spent summer break figuring out how best to teach students, but Cedar Hill is looking for ways to feed them.
“There are kids out there that are hungry,” said Rodney McGhee, director of nutrition for food service provider Chartwells. “There are kids that wake up and they have nothing to eat.”
During the school year kids get at least one good meal a day. However, schools aren’t obligated to feed students during the summer. That’s why so many families in Cedar Hill are grateful school officials chose to do so anyway.
A lot of parents have lost jobs during the pandemic, and with no a stable income, it’s been a struggle to put food on the table.
So Cedar Hill ISD and Chartwells are feeding every kid in the district, no questions asked.
“If there’s a need to be done, we’ve got to be able to stand up and take care of that need,” said McGhee.
The district started in March by offering meals to anyone who could come to school and get them.
However, some families either have no car or one car that needs to be used for work. That meant a lot of parents weren’t able to go to the schools and get food for their kids.
So Cedar Hill started taking the food to them.
A couple of weeks ago, food service staff started delivering food to select, centralized locations throughout the district. Families still have to pick the meals up, but the new locations are easier for many to get to.
Since starting deliveries, the number of kids being fed has tripled.
McGhee says Chartwells and Cedar Hill ISD plan to continue delivering meals as long as needed.
“They really do care and that’s just proof that they do care,” one parent said.
“It’s a blessing,” said another parent. “It’s a blessing from God.”
The district’s act of kindness has even inspired others to give.
Rodrigo Rodriguez says a lot of people in his neighborhood who need food still can’t get to the locations to pick it up.
So the retired marine volunteered to come get it for them.
“They’re kids,” Rodriguez said. “They’re hungry. They’re starving, and it just means a lot for me to help them.”
Neither Rodriguez nor the school district had to feed others.
They just saw where they needed and stepped up to serve.
A good reminder that although kindness is rarely a requirement, it’s always a choice.