Community members express concerns over new meal kits by EVSC, AmeriQual
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — With his family members in need of food, Andre Glein, 15, rode his full-size tricycle from his home to Glenwood Leadership Academy Wednesday afternoon.
He leaned in his seat, waiting patiently between a line of vehicles that stretched blocks away from the school's back entrance. Even after the school ran out of the 336 meal kits prepared for local families, he continued to wait until more food arrived and he was handed the three meal kits needed to split between his family members.
But like Glein, many depending on the school to help feed area kids, locals weren't certain what to expect after Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. shifted from "grab and go meals" three days a week to a 10-day supply of breakfast and lunch meals available one time every two weeks.
But one thing was certain: Glein wasn't going back home empty-handed.
Unfortunately, many weren't so lucky.
During Wednesday's program, the EVSC ran out of the inventory prepared for distribution, leaving many households without the corporation's assistance.
After calculating the number of boxes needed based on the highest amount of meals distributed during the district's "grab and go" program – 5,000 – the EVSC, in partnership with AmeriQual Group, prepared 8,000 boxes.
However, EVSC Spokesman Jason Woebkenberg said the corporation underestimated the amount of meal boxes needed for the program.
After waiting nearly an hour outside Tekoppel Elementary School, parent Misty Humpert was among many who still hadn't received a meal kit, which contained 20 Meal, Ready-To-Eat (MRE) foods expected to last for two weeks.
Luckily for Humpert, her family will be "OK" after missing out on the food drive. But for families leaning on the meal kit distribution, it will be a challenge, she said.
"That's going to be a struggle," Humpert said, "I don't know what they're going to do."
She said she talked to many friends who are also parents of EVSC students who said they experienced the same thing — long waits and no food.
In addition to needing more food prepared for area families, Humpert said she felt there should've been more communication from the corporation.
Wednesday's program was the first by the EVSC and AmeriQual. With their partnership, announced earlier this week, the two organizations agreed to help produce and distribute the free meal kits.
Woebkenberg previously told the Courier & Press the collaboration is focused on limiting families' need to attend multiple "grab and go" locations, while also easing the workload of EVSC food service workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Rather than provide food throughout the week, the EVSC has opted to set one day for distribution. The next meal program is May 13. The school will provide no food between now and that day, two weeks away.
While many families were left empty-handed, community advocates were concerned that even those receiving the kits wouldn't have enough food to last as long as the individual grab and go meals did.
Talisha Petrie, a former worker at AmeriQual, said she's confident her two children and others will adapt to the meal kits produced by the food distribution company.
"They look OK," she said. "They could've brought more so we didn't have to wait in line. But it's something for the kids to get them through for the next couple weeks."
Families were given a gallon and a half of cold milk along with the boxes with the meals.
"We're a little bit concerned about whether this food will last," said Chris Fleming, a member of non-profit organization Potter's Wheel.
The non-profit joined several organizations to help distribute food Wednesday. Fleming expressed concerns about the program going forward.
Woebkenberg said the EVSC will look to increase the inventory upwards of 10,000 to ensure enough families are receiving meal kits. But with the costs attributed to this initiative, he said, it poses a challenge on the district's behalf.
"We're doing everything we possibly can to provide food, it just comes at a cost to our budget that doesn't even include the labor costs," Woebkenberg said.
Fleming expects her organization and others, which also conduct food programs, to step in during the following weeks to serve families unable to sustain the food from the meal kits or who didn't get food at all.
"I see us, as a smaller organization, being able to fill in some gaps," she said.
Woebkenberg said the corporation applauds other organizations' efforts to help, and urges them to continue lending a hand toward the city-wide relief effort.
"It takes everyone to make this happen, but we would certainly encourage all non-profits, non-EVSC schools and everyone outside us to step forward and do what they can," he said.