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Around Town
September 9, 2020 • Community News – St. Louis County • www.mycnews.com
‘FEEDING’ from cover at networking and knowing various child nutrition professionals, and she introduced me to a lot of people. So, I feel like I have a lot of knowledge about food and equipment. I feel (that) I have a really good support network now that I’m director here at the Riverview Gardens School District.” Ebron is fortunate to have already been exposed to serving during the pandemic. “The transition started for me at Fox C-6,” stated Ebron. “One thing that changed my day-to-day activities was (that I began to) serve more in a production role. I really had the ability to get close to my team members because I was working with them more closely at one site instead of being dispersed at many school buildings. We centralized our food production down to two sites. So, it was great because I built relationships with my team members and I feel like I am having the same experience here at Riverview Gardens School District. We centralized our food production here for the school year to two sites, and we are currently distributing our meals through bus route service, so we partner with our First Stu-
dent transportation here for the Riverview Gardens School District. We’re delivering meals via bus route.” Ebron shared that being involved in the bus routes during COVID-19 has helped her learn more about the Riverview Gardens School District. “The transition (in) the pandemic I feel has made us closer,” stated Ebron. “It has given me the opportunity to know my team members better and (enable me) to affirm the work that they do every day.” Ebron stated that the school district is still serving the same menu they would have if students were not being home schooled. “We’re fortunate to have a centralized kitchen site that has automated packing equipment,” stated Ebron. “So, we are still able to serve the entrees and follow the USDA nutrition guidelines for our meals. We are still serving fresh fruit and I’m looking to incorporate more fresh vegetables into our meals.” Ebron shared that she feels she can increase the access to food in the Riverview Gardens School District. She stated that once “we get past the pandemic” she
COMMUNITY VOICES
wants to start a fresh food and vegetable program. “(There is) a grant program offered through the USDA that would allow us to serve at least two fresh vegetables snacks per week,” stated Ebron. “I’ve had the opportunity to implement this program at another school district (where) I was employed. I really want to bring that program here to help address food insecurity. I also want to look at bringing in after school meals and snacks. (In addition), I noticed there is an opportunity to add more flexible equipment here – maybe more modular equipment to help hold our (hot vs. cold) meals in the cafeteria sites.” According to Ebron, one of her other great responsibilities in the previous district where she served was social media management for its nutrition services department. “I really want to put more nutrition information about our meals on the (district) website. I really see that there’s an opportunity to share nutrition analysis about our meals – calories, carb counts, and other information.”
By Dr. Rance Thomas
Wearing masks and social distancing helps the common good Since we are facing an upturn or rise in the Covid-19 virus in the St. Louis Metropolitan and the Metro East areas, we are still in a position that demands that we follow the health experts’ recommendations. These include wearing face mass, maintaining social distance (remaining six-feet apart), and washing our hands frequently. However, some individuals are still not following these guidelines. This is even true when they are required to wear masks in order to enter certain stores, such as Schnucks and Walmart. Some wear the masks until they get inside the stores, then they lower them from over their nose and sometimes over both their nose and mouth. Further, some ignore the social distance guidelines as well. It is very difficult to understand why they ignore these requirements. However, I am certain that some do not realize that they are not only endangering others but themselves as well. That is, masks not only protect others, but also protect the wearers as well. As a result, it is very difficult to understand their behavior. As a sociologist, in analyzing human social behavior, it is understandable that some are rebellious and feel that they cannot be told what to do. Others tend to mistakenly believe that they are immune from the virus, and as some have stated nationally their freedom or constitutional rights are being taken away.
Others do not take the virus seriously. They do not realize that many of our rights have already been taken away for the common good. For example, we cannot drive when we have consumed a certain amount of alcohol, and we are also required by law to wear seat belts. There are many more rights that have been taken away including not smoking or carry weapons into certain buildings. Further, we cannot falsely yell “fire in a theater,” and we must have a driver’s license to legally drive a vehicle, etc. These are just a few things that we must do or not do by law to avoid being held accountable in a court of law. With respect to gatherings in large crowds, this can be explained by human beings as social beings and need social contact with others. Since those who do this in opposition to the recommendations or mandated guidelines find it very difficult to remain isolated for long periods of time, they tend to feel a strong desire to associate with others. We see some examples of this in bars, night clubs, parks, beaches, etc. This is especially true in America, because we feel we have more freedom than individuals in many other countries. Further, many of these other countries demand stricter obedience than we do and individuals tend to obey them. We are not the largest country in the world, we have by far the largest number of Covid-29 cases and the largest number of deaths from this
virus. This is even truer if we look at the rate per population. In spite of the loneliness and isolation, we need a national policy demanding that individuals obey these guidelines for the common good. These policies must not only be mandated, but they need to be enforced as well. If we do not do this, we will have a very difficult time gaining and maintaining control of this virus. It is very important that we do. In fact, the health experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the situation will get worst if we do not demand stricter adherence to these guidelines. They tell us the virus infection rate will climb significantly during the fall and winter months when individuals will be forced to stay indoors due to the weather. Let us all think about the common good and the safety of ourselves and others. Dr. Rance Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Sociology/Criminal Justice and co-founder and President of North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice. The opinions expressed in this column are the columnist’s alone and do not reflect the opinion of the owners or staff of Community News.