Parents debate over the safety of delivering food to students in school
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Some parents believe schools should allow delivery services such as DoorDash and Uber East to drop off food for their children during lunchtime. However, others believe it's a security issue for the respective schools.
“A lot of students are not eating, they're either going home hungry," said Vanessa Hernandez. "My daughter's the same way.”
Vanessa Hernandez is a mother of a high school and middle school student in Salinas. Hernandez frequently drops off lunch for her children and she said her children have complained about not having enough time to get lunch due to long lines. This is why Hernandez said food delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash should be permitted.
“We plan on setting it up because when I can't bring her lunch, I want to you know, set that up so that she can get something dropped off for her,” said Hernandez.
Nia Casad has been door-dashing for over three years and she said she delivers lunch to high schools in Salinas almost every day. According to Casad, most of the high schools are okay with it and have allowed her to hand students their food. However, she said yesterday one high school was upset and asked her to deny any requests to deliver food to that school. Something she said has never happened before.
"It was just strange overall," said Casad. "But what is the difference between a parent bringing students food from a restaurant versus a delivery driver.”
In a statement to KION, The Salinas Union High School district wrote in part, "The District is aware that some students continue to use food delivery services at different school sites and they are reminded that the school staff can’t manage their ordering, delivery, or quality of the food items they are soliciting. Therefore, the District discourages students from using food delivery services."
According to the district, free lunch is provided for all students regardless of their income, and parents are not prevented from sending students to school with a prepared lunch.
The district also stated, "Meals follow the nutritional guidelines set by the California Department of Education. As a reminder, anyone who visits one of their campuses is required to follow District safety and health protocols, as well as guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
