MANSFIELD — Michael Howard grinned as a class of kindergarten students walked towards him. Their hands went up almost automatically, poised for high fives as they passed him on their way to recess.
“Hey smartie!” he said. “Have fun outside.”
Howard does a little bit of everything at Sherman Elementary. He steps in as a substitute teacher. He tutors students who need extra help with their reading. He fills in as a recess aid. A sign outside his office lists his title as student connection specialist, a.k.a. Sherman Superhero.
There’s one thing “Mr. Howard” does each and every week — oversee the distribution of weekend meals to more than 500 preschool through 2nd grade students.
Sherman provides boxes of shelf-stable food items to its students every Friday through a partnership with the Children’s Hunger Alliance. Each kit includes one dinner, two breakfasts and two lunches.
Lauren Moran, food services director for Mansfield City Schools, said the meals are made up of prepackaged items that require no preparation or special storage.
“There are things that kids would be excited about,” Moran said. “The breakfast can be granola bars, cereal bowl packs, that kind of thing.”
Lunches and dinners might include items like beef jerky, cheese sticks, fruit cups and sandwich crackers.
Howard said students get excited when they see him coming with a trolley of boxes. Sometimes, they ask to help pass them out.
“This is important stuff,” said Howard, a retired colonel from the 179th Airlift Wing. “You can’t think if you’re hungry. Anytime you can fill your belly, that definitely helps the brain.”
Moran said the fact that Howard runs the program is an added bonus.
“(The kids) are just so thrilled to see him,” she said. “The fact that those boxes come with a smile from Mr. Howard is just like the cherry on top.”
The Children’s Hunger Alliance began its weekend distribution with Mansfield City Schools in November 2021 at Prospect Elementary. In January 2022, the partnership expanded to Sherman.
“I think it’s excellent, even for the adults, because we spent a lot of time worrying whether kids had food to eat over the weekend,” Sherman Principal Amy Bradley said.
“We don’t have as many kids complaining of being hungry. When you’re not hungry, you’re able to focus on your learning.”
Prospect Elementary closed at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but the weekend meal program has continued at Sherman. In March, the Children’s Hunger Alliance honored Mansfield City Schools with its Weekend Meals Program of the Year award.
Judy Mobley, President and CEO of Children’ Hunger Alliance, praised Mansfield Supt. Stan Jefferson for being a “huge advocate” of the program.
Mobley also thanked teachers and staff at Sherman for being willing to embrace it.
“They’ve got enough on their plate to take care of kids during the school day, but they care about their kids, even when they’re not in school,” Mobley said.
“It’s extra work for them. No mistake about it. They have to deal with the disruption during their school day and getting the meals into the kids’ hands.”
Staff at Mansfield City Schools say the program meets a need in the community. According to Moran, nearly 63 percent of students in the district qualify for aid based on foster-care placement, homelessness or family participation in state assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Ohio Works First (OWF).
MCS qualifies for universal free meal access through the USDA based on the district’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
“What I don’t collect data on anymore is the kids who qualify based just on income,” Moran said.
“When we were collecting income applications (for school meal assistance) — the last year would have been 2017 I believe — the entire district was at about 83 percent free and reduced qualification.”
Numerous studies show that food insecurity can negatively impact all aspects of a child’s life.
Children’s HealthWatch findings show an increased risk for developmental delays among food insecure infants and toddlers. Young children in food insecure households are more likely to suffer from ailments like stomach aches, headaches and colds.
Other studies have made a connection between food insecurity and low test scores, memory impairment and lower social skills.
A report by FeedingAmerica states that hunger has negative ramifications on children’s health, education and workforce and job readiness.
Mobley said the weekend meals meet the same nutritional standards the USDA requires for school lunches. The only exception is that they don’t include milk.
“We do not send shelf stable milk,” she said. “Kids in general just do not like shelf stable milk and so for us it was almost wasted funds.”
The program doesn’t cost Mansfield City Schools anything — costs are covered by the CHA and local partners Sutton Bank and the Hire Family Foundation.
Mobley said Sutton Bank has committed to a $25,000 contribution each year through 2024-2025. The Hire Family Foundation provided $50,000 this school year.
Larry Wolf, a representative for the Hire Family Foundation, said the family has been supporting the Children’s Hunger Alliance since 2020 and will likely continue next year.
“When the pandemic hit, one of the family members said, ‘I wish there was something we could do,'” Wold said. “The Hire Family are extraordinary people and once they find organizations they like, they tend to give every year.”
Mobley said she’s optimistic the organization can secure a third local funder, which would allow them to expand next school year.
“Mansfield’s administration would love to be able to do this at more schools,” Mobley said. “There’s a need, but it just takes funding.”
Moran said she’s looking forward to expanding the program as soon as possible.
“Once they give us the green light, we’re gonna add either Malabar, or if they need to go smaller, we’ll pick up one of our other elementary schools,” she said.
Jefferson said he’d like to eventually expand the weekend meals program to every building in the district.
“We have to address the academics of students, the extracurriculars of students, the social emotional aspect of students,” he said. “That includes their overall wellness.
“We are one community. We’re going to continue to address taking care of our children.”
