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More than 8,000 Free Meals Served at Dell Rapids School District During Pandemic

September 6, 2020 by Submitted

Photo submitted by Rachelle Loutsch/Lunchtime Solutions

DELL RAPIDS, SD — More than 8,000 free meals were served to the children and families of Dell Rapids School District while schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The innovations that made that possible will help Lunchtime Solutions and Dell Rapids schools continue to provide healthy meals to students into the new school year.

“We want to make sure that keeping children well-fed is one less worry for families in such a chaotic, stressful time,” said Tammy Coyle, Vice President of Operations for Lunchtime Solutions.

Under the direction of Food Service Director Deb Emmert and kitchen staff, Dell Rapids schools held their emergency breakfast and lunch program from March 16 through May 15th.  Meals were distributed in two locations from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM each weekday. The district also provided deliveries to students who were not able to get to the schools during the designated times.

These “grab and go meals” were available because the USDA granted schools waivers to run the Summer Food Service Program, which is universally free for children ages 0-18.

“It truly was a team effort to turn our regular program served in the lunchroom into a 100 percent take-out-based option, almost overnight.”

Based in North Sioux City, Lunchtime Solutions partners with 51 districts to manage their food service programs, ranging in size from over 4,000 students to under 200. Those districts together have served 2.3 million meals to their students since mid-March. Since schools were closed across the Midwest, having access to free meals that are well-balanced and taste good has never been more important for children and their families, many of whom are still dealing with a loss of income, Coyle said.

“Almost all our schools needed and requested this service, not just the large ones,” Coyle said. “The fact that our staff have served more than 2 million meals since mid-March speaks to how much this has truly been needed.”

Coming into the fall semester, Lunchtime Solutions has worked with Dell Rapids schools to provide serving solutions that fit each location’s needs, Coyle said. Menus have been modified to reduce self-service, and social distancing has been put into effect in the lunchroom area.

“Our teams will continue to successfully adapt our programs as situations change, “she said. “We could never do this without the dedicated staff who work these programs with the help of school district staff and volunteers. Providing nutritious meals to children who may otherwise not have them is very important to us, and we know it is to the schools and communities we serve, as well.”

PHOTO CUTLINE — Photo provided by Rachelle Loutsch/Lunchtime Solutions

An assortment of food, including sandwiches, salads, fruits, vegetables, cereal and milk have been available in grab and go meals being served at Lunchtime Solutions schools.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dell Rapids High School, Lunchtime Solutions

New Chef Cooks Lunch for Students in Dell Rapids

September 25, 2018 by Submitted

LunchtimeSolutionsChefDemoDELL RAPIDS, SD — Sabrina Slater, the new demonstration chef at Lunchtime Solutions, Inc., was in the lunchroom to cook and serve beef and broccoli stir fry on Tuesday, September 25th.  Chef Sabrina created this savory dish right in front of the students and served it up hot and fresh.

Preparing fresh entrees for students through chef demonstrations in the lunchroom is a regular part of Lunchtime Solutions’ food service program.  Lunchtime Solutions has operated Dell Rapids food service for the past 16 years.

Chef Sabrina has nearly 15 years of experience in food service, spending three years as a cook at the famous Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas before joining the Lunchtime Solutions team. She is excited to bring her expertise into our schools to provide more healthy, fresh-made lunch choices for students and staff.  Our chef-prepared entrees give them an opportunity to try foods that they may have not tried before and expose them to flavors and tastes not normally a part of school food service.

“Our program centers on getting kids excited about eating lunch at school,” said Jennifer Hopf, Area Director for Lunchtime Solutions. “We think it’s important to provide a wide variety of menu options and make sure students have unlimited access to fresh fruits and vegetables every day.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dell Rapids High School, Lunchtime Solutions

Dell Rapids Students Learning about Locally Grown Foods One Bite at a Time

October 22, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

HoverstenApples_1

Dave Hoversten poses with a basket of Red Gala apples he delivered to Dell Rapids schools that were served to students for lunch.

Dell Rapids School District students are benefiting from the fruits of local growers’ labors not only during National Farm to School Month, but year-round.

The school district’s partnership with Hoversten Orchard north of Brandon, SD, is just one example. Over the past two months, orchard owner Dave Hoversten has been personally delivering a wide variety of apples grown at the orchard – up to 800 apples, or 8 bushels, a week. As a result, Dell Rapids students have gotten to munch on a wide variety of apples that include Honeycrisp, Gala, Zestar!, Sweet Sixteen, Ginger Gold, and Williams’ Pride.

Deb Emmert, Dell Rapids Food Service Director, said she’s been partnering with Hoversten for several years to supply apples to the lunchroom during his regular growing season. “The best part of going through a local orchard is that we get types of apples kids have never heard of before,” Emmert said. “The response we’ve gotten is remarkable. Students love the taste and they can tell when we have to go back to store-bought.”

Dell Rapids’ breakfast and lunch programs are operated by Lunchtime Solutions Inc., a K-12 food service management company based out of Dakota Dunes, SD. The apples are being served as part of Lunchtime Solutions’ monthly Farmers Market Selections program, through which locally grown produce is featured on school lunch menus accompanied by education about the fruit or vegetable and information about the local grower. October is also National Farm to School Month, which celebrates the connections happening all over the country between children and local food.

Emmert said she tries to serve local fruits and vegetables as much as possible throughout the year, partnering with several other growers in the area.

HoverstenApples_2

Dell Rapids High School students have enjoyed eating locally grown apples from Hoversten Orchard north of Brandon, SD, throughout the month of October.

“There are lots of reasons why it’s important to serve local foods,” she said. “These growers contribute to the school district through being located here, so supporting them helps everyone. And the education our kids receive is great – they find out more about the food they eat and see they can actually go and pick it themselves.”

The burgeoning demand for locally grown foods is one reason Hoversten Orchard has stayed in business for 30 years, Hoversten said. Not only is there more of a market for the fruit of the orchard’s 5,000 apple trees, he’s been able to expand the crops he provides to corn, beans and other products. But it’s the apples that have everyone’s taste buds hooked.

“Apples you get at the store are picked before they are ripe,” he said. “We wait for them to develop more before picking them, so they have a better flavor. A ripe apple picked off the tree is the best you can get.”

Emmert and Hoversten both said they look forward to continuing to work together. “They are the sweetest people and they provide excellent customer service,” Emmert said of the Hoversten family. Several family members work together to run the orchard and farms. “I’m glad our students are able to benefit from this partnership and the orchard does, too. Everyone wins.”

For the past 15 years, Lunchtime Solutions has provided healthy and delicious meals to Dell Rapids students through the schools’ breakfast and lunch programs.

“Our program centers on getting kids excited about eating lunch at school,” said Jennifer Hopf, Area Director for Lunchtime Solutions. “We think it’s important to provide a wide variety of menu options and make sure students have unlimited access to fresh fruits and vegetables every day.”

####

Contact: Deb Emmert
E-mail: d.emmert@lunchtimesolutions.com

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dell Rapis School, Hoversten Orchard, Lunchtime Solutions

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