PAGE – The week of Nov. 16 was a busy one for Page Unified School District’s Food and Nutrition Services.

In addition to preparing and distributing their usual amount of breakfasts and lunches, they prepared and handed out an additional 7,000 meals for families to have during the week of Thanksgiving.

Minnette Roundstone, a resident of LeChee appreciated the meals and the extra effort the Food and Nutrition workers did. She picked up meals from one of the delivery buses at the LeChee Chapter House on Friday.

“It’s very helpful,” she said. “I really appreciate the amount of work the district does.”

During a typical week PUSD’s Food and Nutrition Services prepares and distributes between 7,600 to 8,400 meals, which includes breakfast and lunch. The nine-person prep crew last week prepared 13,350 meals, which included 750 meals for the students attending the district’s Onsite Support Services.

The meals were distributed last Friday at two pickup sites in Page, and via six bus routes that took the meals to various locations in the Navajo Nation, Greenehaven, and to Big Water.

Art Marquez, director of Food and Nutrition Services, praised his dedicated crew. 

“They’re doing an amazing job, especially considering all that’s going on, and sending out the best possible meals we can provide,” Marquez said. “Their main concern is making sure our kids are fed.”

Food and Nutrition Services will do the same thing over the two weeks that school is out during the Christmas break. They will give out a week’s worth of food on Dec. 21 and again on Dec. 28. They will send out sign-up sheets the first week of December.

PUSD’s Food and Nutrition Services has been preparing and distributing free breakfasts and lunches for anyone 18 and younger since Sept. 3, 2020. Since that time, they have prepared and given out 73,540 meals.