Yesterday morning I woke up, made coffee and sat down in front of my computer like I do every morning. I pulled up my digital subscription to the Tampa Bay Times. I clicked on “NEWS” and then I clicked on “Hernando” to see if there were any new news articles which might effect us all living in this little pocket of Florida, just North of Tampa. As I started reading through the articles I found that the Hernando County School District were continuing to feed their children. For the families of school aged children in Hernando County, who also attend Hernando County schools, the district has developed a system to provide approximately 3500 meals a day. They use buses which are deployed to designated school bus stops, apartment complexes, and Delta Woods Park. They also serve meals at a number of schools in the district.
I thought about the logistics of feeding at all of those locations and decided to grab my camera and drive over to Delta Woods Park to see what I could find. I had questions in my head; How many people would show up? Would there be a long line of students waiting for meals with their parents? The Times photograph by Michelle Miller showed a small line of people waiting for food and happy children all seated inside of a car, hamming it up for the camera.
I arrived at Delta Woods Park on Deltona Blvd, in Spring Hill, Florida to find a Hernando County School bus parked in the middle of the parking lot, a Hernando County Sheriff’s deputy standing nearby, and a line of traffic (10-15 cars) snaked through the parking lot, waiting in a line to receive a meal from school personnel. I pulled into a parking space to observe how the situation would unfold in front of me and with my windows down on this cool morning, I just sat, observed, and listened.
The situation was calm with zero tension. A Hernando County deputy sheriff, with a smile on his face, spoke to the driver of each vehicle, providing instruction of what would occur as they pulled forward in line. Everyone complied, and the effort was flawless. School personnel wearing gloves and a face mask would open the hatch or trunk of the vehicle next in line and place a box with food inside of the vehicle, close the trunk or hatch and the vehicle would slowly pull away revealing the next person in line. While another school employee, also wearing gloves and a face mask would greet the driver. The effort was flawless and what unfolded in front of me was simply people caring for people. School district leadership continuing to ensure that our children’s needs were met. As you often hear in the news, the only meals many children receive are at school. Breakfast and lunch are served here in Hernando County for those that need it daily, and with the recent school closures how do the children who need it continue to eat… They eat through forward thinking by school leadership.
During this time of crisis and need, we’ve all seen the photographs or experienced first hand bare shelves in the grocery stores because people are hoarding. If you pay attention to social media, all you see is negativity. You see each side of politics accusing the other of being a part of the problem, to include friends and family. Recently, I deleted anything from my Facebook page that could be construed as negative or political, not because I can’t have discussion about it, but because “discussion” cannot simply be had. The current state of politics is polarizing. Posts turn to people bickering, lobbing accusations, and just plain mean spiritedness. So, I deleted any post that could be political in nature and decided to go create positive content. I’ll get my information from reputable sites, and decrease my social media screen time. Everyone sharing their frustrations on social media, simply transfers their frustrations to others and we become our own worst enemies.
I worked in public service my entire life. I retired last year after 25 years in law enforcement and I continue to work in the community through community coalitions and volunteer work. God placed me here to serve people, so I won’t stop until I breathe no more. I never thought I’d see something like this and I’ve seen a lot of craziness during my career. I’m thankful though for the people like our dedicated school employees who come to work to ensure children will not go hungry. Thank you.
Now let’s briefly discuss the deputy sheriff present during this situation. Nothing was out of hand, but the fact that someone chose to place this specific deputy sheriff, in this situation, is nothing but kind. I know him. His name is Brian Timothy, and he is a school resource deputy. I worked hand in hand with him, and there is no better deputy to be present during a situation like this than Deputy Timothy. The approximate 23,000 children in our school district see these same deputy sheriffs daily (School Resource Deputies), the kids know them, and therefore they become a symbol of comfort for our children. They have earned the trust of the kids, and there is no one better to be present for these kids during this time of crisis than Deputy Brain Timothy. To all of those people on the front lines, especially the ones working behind the scenes, like our school food service workers… my hat is off to you. Thank you for your dedication; it does not go unnoticed.
Make it your Absolute intent to be better today than you were yesterday. I hope you all have a blessed day.
School personnel ensure children are fed during the March 2020 COVID-19 crisis.