Prospect head cook Joan Uzunoff poses with first-grader Leanna Debo who won one of Uzunoff’s handmade blankets. Joan Uzunoff has lost track of how many years she has celebrated National School Lunch Week in her unique way but, thanks to her, students at Prospect Elementary School will be warmer this winter.
Uzunoff, the
head cook at Prospect, and her daughter, Lorrie Tackett, distributed handmade, crocheted
hats, gloves and scarves to children in kindergarten through third grade on Wednesday.
One child at each grade level was the lucky drawing winner of a blanket made by
Uzunoff.
The items
were distributed after children finished hot lunches of orange chicken, Asian
mixed vegetables, corn, Mandarin oranges and milk.
Uzunoff works year round to prepare for National School Lunch Week.
“A lot of people helped with this in different ways by crocheting or buying things,” Uzunoff said, mentioning her daughter and Jeffe Beeman, Milicent Gamble, Suzanne Riggenbach and Linda Beers.
“Each kindergarten student received a crocheted hat and a fidget spinner. All others except the blanket winners got a crocheted hat and gloves or a hat and scarf.”
Several
students were wearing their hats in the cafeteria as they stacked their empty
trays in preparation for returning to class.
“I don’t know how many years I’ve been doing this,” said Uzunoff, who began working in Mansfield City Schools in 1983. She handed out gifts for several years at Hedges Intermediate School and Woodland Elementary School before moving to Prospect.
The theme of National School Lunch Week 2018 – Oct. 15-19 – is “School Lunch: Lots 2 Love.” The weeklong celebration was started by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
According to
the School Nutrition Association, the National School Lunch Program serves more
than 30 million children every school day.
Lauren
Moran, Mansfield City Schools food service manager, said the district serves as
average of 2,600 free lunches and 1,800 free breakfasts each day.