ICYMI Local 12 Visits the Middie Meal Machine
Middie Meal Machine will deliver meals for students while on school breaks
by Kathryn Robinson, WKRC
Thursday, April 25, 2019
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WKRC) - The Middletown City School District is taking an innovative approach to addressing hunger in the district.
The Middie Meal Machine is a food truck that will deliver meals in Middletown neighborhoods while students are on breaks from school.
“Outside of the school day, winter break, spring break, during the summer time, knowing our students need access to healthy meals, the meal machine will be able to be out in the community, providing students the meals outside the school day and we're very, very excited about that,” Superintendent Marlon Styles said.
Styles says the food truck fits into their overall plan of ending hunger and closing the equity gap in their district.
“If that equity piece is present, we need to remove that transportation barrier and a mobile food truck allows us to tackle that exact same thing,” Style said.
Chefs can produce 250 to 300 meals out of the fully loaded kitchen on board the food truck.
Styles believes a student that is nourished with a healthy meal will perform better in the classroom.
Middletown senior, Tazh Davis, says the food truck has already shown purpose.
“It's supposed to deliver food, it's supposed to stop by when you need it, it's supposed to be there, it's supposed to be present and I think it's going to do exactly what it's supposed to do,” Davis said. “I think it's going to be nothing but positive outcomes from the community.”
Styles says the food truck will also be used for sporting events and educational opportunities and classes.
The school district is working on the final steps to get the Middie Meal Machine on the road. Styles anticipates it will be ready in late May. School leaders are still working to plan logistics about how often and where the food truck will travel.
