Ross Montessori School in Carbondale is now offering free hot lunch to all its students five days a week, thanks to a collaborative effort involving multiple local, state and even national partners.
Prior to the current school year, Ross had lunch catered from various restaurants around town two days a week. That worked great for the first 19 years of the school’s existence, but on a limited scale, school officials said.
Two years ago, Ross’s health office and assessment manager, Rachael Bergeson, began preparing hot lunches herself to bring in on Fridays, adding a third day to the program.
But that still left families with the only option being to pack a lunch for their children on the other two days of the school week.
This year, Ross secured a grant from the Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS) and took advantage of the state’s new Healthy School Meals for All program that was approved by voters in 2022, working with the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) to expand free hot lunch service to five days a week.
Ross is not part of the school district, operating as a charter school under the Colorado Charter School Institute. But when the Roaring Fork Schools opted into the state’s meals-for-all program, it had the capacity to include Ross.
Now, every school day, lunches are prepared at nearby Roaring Fork High School in coordination with RFSD Director of Nutrition Services Octavio Maese. Bergeson’s team picks up the meals and brings them to Ross to serve to their students who have elected during the morning count to eat hot lunch that day — plus a few extras in case someone forgets.
“It has been a lot of work to make this happen … but I just feel like it’s so worth it,” said Bergeson, who underwent special training to become the school’s official hot lunch manager.
“I see the reward every single day in the kids,” she said, adding that her own daughter, who is a student at Ross, often asks, “What’s for lunch today?”
“She just loves the option of having hot lunch and knows there will be good food.” It’s become a popular choice among students and families in general, Bergeson said.
With the three-day program last year, Ross served, on average, about 70 students on the days lunch was provided. This year, that number has grown to 100 students, or about half of the school’s enrollment.
Head of School Sonya Hemmen said she is impressed with the quality of the food now being provided by the school district’s meals program.
“It’s all healthy, made from scratch, with fresh fruit and nice portions. We’re pretty happy with it,” she said.
On given days, there’s even a lunch salad option, such as a chef salad or chicken caesar salad.
“It’s a pretty substantial lunch in itself, and I’m surprised at the number of students that get them,” Bergeson said.
The CLCS grant to Ross came from a larger $50,000 Rural Charter School Food Project grant award from the Gates Family Foundation. The pilot program aims to serve 1,200 students in rural charter schools across the state, with the possibility of expanding with additional grant funding in the future, said Rainey Wikstrom, school wellness director for CLCS.
The program at Ross has even expanded employment opportunities for area adults who have developmental disabilities.
When the Safeway grocery store closed in Glenwood Springs in 2019, Hemmen reached out to Mountain Valley Developmental Services (MVDS) employment manager Crystal Hunt to ask what would happen to the many MVDS clients who had worked at the store.
“I said, ‘Well, we would love to employ them here at Ross,’” Hemmen said.
What was three days of work a week for the rotation of MVDS workers who come to Ross is now five.
“I just think it’s a really big benefit for our students to see inclusion at all levels, especially when it involves grown-ups,” Hemmen said.
Not only do the MVDS clients perform duties like preparing and serving the meals, and cleanup after lunch period, they have become part of the Ross community, participating in holiday celebrations and other activities with the students.
“It’s exactly what we wanted,” Hemmen said. “It’s just a good partnership.”
In order to qualify to receive the school district meals under the state’s free meals program, Ross does have to track those students whose families qualify for free or reduced lunch based on income. The meals are still free for all students, but the number of qualifying students is used for state reimbursement purposes.