Striking teachers go out of their way to make sure students have food

[brooklynite]

Today Show

When teachers at Beckley Elementary in West Virginia considered going on strike, they worried their students would go to bed hungry. About 300 of the school’s 430 students rely on the free breakfast and lunch programs and a closed school meant many would have rumbling bellies.

“One of our biggest worries … was our kids getting fed,” Patrick Williams, a social worker at Beckley Elementary, told TODAY. “We truly honestly care about our kids.”

Before the statewide teacher strike in West Virginia, Williams and his colleagues brainstormed about how to feed their students during it. In a faculty meeting, they pooled money to purchase pizzas, fruit, and water. They set the first free lunch at a local grocery store on the second day of the strike, last Friday. When the local Sam’s Club and Little Caesar’s Pizza learned of it, they also donated items.

During lunch, teachers and staff handed out slices from about 40 boxes of pizza, but they still had about 60 boxes left. That’s when Williams suggested they visit the students at home.

[rurallib]

1. teachers care!