NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – GLOW Academy in Wilmington is working to feed students while schools are closed to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“It has definitely challenged us to think about all of the different ways that school touches the lies of kids and families and that has been very much on the forefront of my thinking as a school leader,” said Laura Hunter, the Principal at GLOW.
The school provides curbside pickup of breakfast and lunch at its campus from 11 a.m. from 1 p.m. Monday though Friday.
GLOW Academy also delivers meals to six underserved areas of New Hanover County to reach students without transportation. Within the first week, over 900 meals were delivered to 450 students.
“I was worried about those kids in the communities so I mapped out the New Hanover County school distribution sites,” said Hunter. “I put GLOW Academy into those holes by taking those buses to our communities instead of expecting those communities to come to our school.”
The schedule for daily meal delivery is:
- 11:00 – 11:45 AM Greenville Loop Village Trailer Park on Greenville Loop Road
- 11:00 – 11:45 AM Vista Village, Manhattan Drive
- 12:15 – 12:45 PM Oak Court Apartments, 245 S Kerr Ave
- 12:15 – 12:45 PM Forest Hills Apartments, 505 Alpine Dr
- 1:00 – 1: 45 PM Tidewater Apartments, 355 Greendale Dr
- 1:00 – 1: 45 PM Hillcrest Community Center, 140 Meares Street
“When school’s not in session, one of the things that school leaders are constantly thinking about is how best to serve the community of kids that come into our building when they’re not coming into our building.,” said Hunter. “Which is why you see summer feeding programs. Which is why you see strengthening backpacks over holidays like Christmas and spring break because we have a lot of food insecurity in our community and communities across this country.”
Social distancing is practiced throughout the distribution effort. GLOW staff do not exit the buses; meals are handed to students through the bus door; and distribution is provided along multiple sites at each location to avoid students gathering.
“Making sure buses are wiped down and sanitized at the end after every run so they have a day and night to sit dormant before we ramp back up the next day,” said Hunter. “We make sure there is as little contact as possible in order to keep everyone as safe as possible.”
This food delivery effort is also allowing 12 part time GLOW employees to continue working.
“Kids are grateful for the opportunity to come out, get a meal, and see each other,” said Hunter. “And it lifts the hearts of our employees too to feel like they’re doing something.”
Breakfast and lunch service is available to all children under the age of 18. Children do not have to be enrolled at GLOW Academy to access this free meal service.
“This is just one of the many ways that we are trying to keep our GLOW girls and our GLOW community engaged in the work that we do here at GLOW Academy,” said Hunter. “Our mission is to make sure that every girl is successful. We say it everyday: she will graduate, she will go to college, and she will succeed in life. But we’ve got to get over this hump together, build resiliency together, and hopefully weather this storm and come out even stronger on the other end.”
GLOW Academy is located at 4100 Sunglow Drive in Wilmington.
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