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COVID-19 shutdown gives Port Coquitlam lunch lady renewed purpose

Grace Schmidt is working with School District 43 to make sure kids don't go hungry this summer

A Port Coquitlam business woman is finding a renewed sense of purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic with a charitable program that is putting food in the stomachs of local school children and their families.

Like other other Tri-City businesses pivoting to serve people differently in these challenging times, Grace Schmidt, owner of The Lunch Lady franchise, was devastated when schools were shut down and she wasn’t making or delivering lunches any more.

“That’s the highlight of my day, seeing their smiling faces, they are always excited to see The Lunch Lady,’ Schmidt told the Tri-City News as she made chocolate chip cookies in her large industrial kitchen.

But with her business disappearing as schools were shutdown after Spring Break, Schmidt began to find other ways to use her time.

She made hot meals for Eagle Ridge Hospital nurses and provided food to a local church hamper program.

Now she’s got a new project to keep her busy — one that was recently recognized by School District 43 officials at a recent board meeting.

According to Rob Zambrano, assistant superintendent, The Lunch Lady is a partner in enabling the district to provide meals and hampers for vulnerable families over the summer.

Grace Schmidt, The Lunch Lady, packs meals into her van
Grace Schmidt, The Lunch Lady, packs meals into her van as part of an effort to feed the families of School District 43 students. - Diane Strandberg

“Food security for the summer doesn’t end,” Zambrano said, as he noted how the district is continuing to work with Share Family and Community Services, United Way and The Lunch Lady to provide food hampers for local families, who need the extra help.

He also invited the community to take part by donating on the The Lunch Lady website, www.LunchLady.ca, which when added to a grant from SD43, will help provide groceries and a family-sized meal every other week to dozens of families over the summer.

Schmidt, who proposed the idea to SD43’s healthy living coordinator, said she was thrilled to be able to work with the school district to provide help directly to families that need it. 

The idea came up when she was thinking of the impact that the removal of the hot lunch program would have on vulnerable children whose school would typically pay for their meal — with partial proceeds from LunchLady purchases — when schools were open.

But with schools closed, Schmidt said she started to worry about some of the more vulnerable children, especially one boy she had befriended.

“When this (school shutdown) happened, all I could think of was this one boy.”

Now she knows he’s being taken care of through the partnership with SD43, along with other families who get a balanced dinner meal every other week through the program, as well as a bag of groceries.

In addition, Schmidt has started a Meals to Go program that workers can use to order meals they can heat up when they get home after work.

Business is not the same as it was when she delivered 200 to 500 lunches to SD43 schools every day, but Schmidt says the transition to post-COVID operation has provided her with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

“It’s great,” she says, “I know it sounds cliché, but it is the most feeling of purpose I’ve ever felt.”

To donate a meal or to order a meal to go, visit www.TheLunchLady.ca