In times of challenge, leaders step forward.

Beverly Hendricks, the director of Food Services for the Pleasant Valley School District, is used to making sure all of its students get a good lunch, but distributing nearly 1,600 meals to needy families via their vehicle windows wasn’t something she ever thought she’d do.

“In the beginning, we didn’t know how many we would be giving to here,” she said.

Hendricks and her staff began handing out meals for breakfast and lunch on March 17 through the Grab-n-Go meals program. They have continued this work every week since Day 1. Initially, the families drove in and formed two lines for distribution, Monday through Friday.

After getting the hang of it, Hendricks realized that they could hand out two days worth of meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which would reduce any possible exposure to the virus and still provide the same number of meals for the families.

“We had a lot of people who wanted to help in any way they could,” she said. “If I put out tomorrow that I need more help, I would undoubtedly have people come out.”

In all, the staff consists of 10: assemblers and servers, school police to direct traffic, and custodians to help with clean up.

“We have a dynamic group of individuals,” she said.

One of the staff, Judy Bertsch, said they have received some thank-you cards and notes. The items are taped to the wall at the coffee station in the kitchen of the cafeteria in the high school, so that all of the staff can see them in the morning.

“The people are appreciative,” she said.

“And they are in need,” added Daniel Brenek, one of the police officers with the school district.

Staffer Laurie Kratz said the hardest part about doing this job, “is knowing that you’re not getting to all the people. There are people who can’t get down here,” because they don’t have transportation.

In all, the experience has brought her staff closer together.

“You really get to know the individuals you work with,” she said.

Hendricks said that getting out of the routine of daily life has brought out a side in her staff she didn’t see before - their generosity.

“I just always like to note good in people,” she said. ”It was nice to see it.”

With the school year winding down, the meal program will be wrapping up soon, too. Hendricks said the Grab-n-Go meals program’s last day at Pleasant Valley is today. They will serve two days and then effective Wednesday, the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network Food Pantry will take on the responsibility for preparing and distributing the meals for the school district’s children.

Distribution will continue through the summer with distribution days from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Western Pocono Library, 131 Pilgrim Way, Brodheadsville. The meal packs will include a breakfast and lunch.

“Please be patient as we make this transition. There may be a hiccup or two along the way,” Hendricks said. “We may have to experiment with traffic flow the first few weeks, and the menu might change as we have a different group preparing the meals. But we all are committed to making sure that kids continue to get nutritious meals, so they can continue growing, learning, and just being kids!”

For more information about PVEN, go to pven.net.

“I am grateful that Pleasant Valley School District is able to feed our families in need since the beginning of this pandemic,” said Lee Lesisko, superintendent of Pleasant Valley School District.

“With so many confirmed cases and deaths in Monroe County, our food service and staff routinely place themselves in harm’s way knowing that they could become infected at any time. PV truly has a dedicated staff who cares about our community.”

The food in the program came from inventory in the schools. When they began to run out of some things, Hendricks purchased food with funds from the Seamless Summer Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Using up the inventory they had might have been a risky move.

“I don’t know what will be coming down the line,” she said. “It could hit our budget for the next school year.”