This Dallas school cafeteria manager is providing meals for her community during the pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, families continue to feel the effects of the nationwide school shutdown, as many rely on their school district to also feed their children. To help alleviate this stress, a group of school cafeteria workers in Dallas, Tex., made the selfless decision to work on the frontline feeding those in need. Yahoo Life spoke with Yolanda Fisher, cafeteria manager at T.W. Browne Middle School, who reminds us that “there’s no shame in needing help.”

Although Fisher is able to stay home and continue receiving a paycheck, she felt it was her responsibility to help others by providing meals for her community. Along with nine other women, Fisher works diligently every day to assemble bags of food that are distributed each Thursday. Upon pick up, each family receives 15 meals worth of food — including a variety of options for breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks that will last the entire week.

The children are not the only ones who benefit from Fisher’s service. She shares that they feed anyone in need in the community, including adults and families who don’t attend T.W. Browne. When Fisher first began this work on the frontline, she prepared 75 meals, not knowing exactly how many cars would drive up. Almost two months later, that number has grown to 1,400 weekly meals and continues to rise.

Fisher is aware of the increasing need for her services, as the pandemic has made it difficult for families to support themselves. “The most challenging part is not knowing the amount of cars that will drive up each week,” Fisher shares. Despite these circumstances, Fisher reassures that her team remains prepared.

Although the cafeteria is devoid of students, it is currently packed with tables worth of food to be distributed to the students and their families. “While I have a team outside giving out meals, I still have a team on the inside bagging up more meals just in case. I just don’t want to turn someone away,” Fisher shares.

She and her team are certainly getting the recognition that they deserve, already having graced the cover of Time magazine. However, Fisher shares that her biggest reward will always be the children. “Once the accolades from the public go away, I'm still having my babies to greet me, to thank me, to say how wonderful the food is,” she says.

Video produced by Jenny Miller

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