When an outbreak of COVID-19 forced the suspension this week of the Perry Community School District’s grab-and-go meals program, two local Perry parents promptly stepped up, solicited food donations from the Perry Fareway and Hy-Vee stores and organized a replacement sack-lunch program.
Megan Geffre of Perry said the details are still a little in flux, but the plan for now is to provide 100 meals a day for five days: on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Geffre said she and her neighbor, Ivette Drahos, will split the labor of fixing the lunches, which will include a sandwich — either bologna or ham and cheese loaf — chips, fresh fruit — an apple or cutie orange — and a juice drink. Meals will be limited to one per child.
“I know this isn’t to the capacity in which the schools were providing meals,” Geffre said, “but please understand those meals were being covered by a government program, whereas the meals we will be providing are coming out of local individuals’ gracious pockets.”
Only people wearing face masks will be given meals, Geffre said. There will be no exception to this rule. She said that she and her fellow partner will be wearing face masks, and everyone who picks up a lunch must be wearing one, too.
Pickup will occur in two steps: first, you shout out from the street the number of meals you need. Second, Geffre and her comrade bring the lunches to the end of her driveway, and then you pick them up.
The sack lunches will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the end of Geffre’s driveway, the exact location of which will be revealed Wednesday morning.
She said she and Drahos were moved to arrange the replacement lunches when the school’s 400-meals-a-day program was suspended Sunday.
“It has weighed heavy on my heart,” Geffre said, “knowing that we’ve gone from providing that many meals a day to zero. I want to help.”
She said she will be working closely with local grocery leaders to reassess the efforts after the first week and to see if additional meals can be provided through local donor support. Gaffre is accepting donations toward the lunches via Paypal. If the school’s grab-and-go program resumes, any unused donations will go into the Bluejay Fund, she said.
