UPDATED AS OF MARCH 30, 2020, AT 10:02 P.M.

“When our cafeteria staff are working in the kitchen, their workstations are more than six feet apart,” said HCPS cafeteria supervisor Andrea Early. 

For a lot of students, school is a reliable source for their daily meals, and once Harrisonburg City Public School (HCPS) shut down for the rest of the semester, that didn’t change. 

Andrea Early, cafeteria supervisor for Harrisonburg City Public Schools explained how the school has served meals to the public despite the schools shutting down.

“Last week, we served 2,800 bags of food containing four meals in each bag, two breakfasts [and] two lunches, at our school and Mobile Cafe stops. That’s a total of 11,200 meals,” Early said. 

The food is available for any child up to the age of 18, [and] they can receive food at any of the locations. For the HCPS system, students to receiving food is just as important as staying healthy while picking up meals.

“We work to ensure safety for staff, students and families in a number of ways. Cafeteria staff who bag meals must be healthy and not have anyone sick in their home to work. Staff wash their hands, change gloves frequently and sanitize surfaces often. Those who hand out meals also wash hands and wear gloves,” Early said.

Click here to find when the scheduled meals are released for HCPS students and for where.  

Gallery • 17 Photos

Ethan Swift

A landscape view of the line of cars in the HHS parking lot waiting for their turn to get food and homework.