27,000 meals ordered for the school children

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Jefferson County Emergency Management (JCEM) Director Paula Carroll recently ordered 27,000 Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs) with the plan to see the meals distributed to the students who are not able to eat breakfast or lunch on the Jefferson Somerset campus.
The school, throughout the school year, provides free meals to its students, but due to COVID-19 concerns prompting the closure of all Florida public school campuses, many families were concerned with the lack of meal supplements provided by the school.
Many families depend on the school-supplied meals to keep their children fed, and without the regular meals, financially-constrained families face dietary struggles.
Jefferson Somerset is shipping out daily lunches and breakfasts along the bus routes to their students, and the JCEM's 27,000 MREs will help supplement those meals.
When the MREs were delivered to the Jefferson Somerset campus, Georgia-Florida Aviation Search Team (GFAST) volunteered to unload the 27,000 meals.
Richard Connell and Del Loveless, both of GFAST, met with JCEM Director Paula Carroll, Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeill and Jefferson Somerset Principal Cory Oliver in order to unload the supply.
After the meals had been unloaded at the school, Principal Oliver began the planning and implementing of delivering the meals to local students.
“Teamwork is making sure Jefferson County kids continue to be provided meals while schools are suspended,” wrote the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Friday, March 20, adding that Sheriff McNeill wished to thank all who were involved in keeping local children nourished in Jefferson County.