MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle parents push for schools to move student lunches outdoors

Aug 25, 2021, 7:40 AM | Updated: Sep 2, 2021, 11:47 am

child hunger, school lunches...

A child puts her mask back on after finishing lunch at a socially distanced table. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

(Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Seattle parents are circulating a petition urging school officials to move student lunches outside.

Gov. Inslee mandates vaccines for all educators and staff

Students in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) are scheduled to return in-person to classrooms on Sept. 1. All educators and school staff are required to be fully vaccinated by mid-October, while masks will be required at all times.

While the district and teachers union recently came to terms on a tentative deal on larger COVID-19 safety measures, parents are expressing “deep concerns” over students eating lunch in indoor cafeterias. A small portion of Seattle schools plan to use large tents that will allow some students to eat outdoors, but that approach hasn’t been standardized at the district level.

“Fully outdoor lunches — a key, highly impactful COVID mitigation strategy — is [sic] not being supported across all SPS schools and is instead being decided at an individual school-by-school level,” the petition from parents says. “Having this important safety strategy handled at a school level risks creating significant health and education equity gaps as less-resourced schools may risk more frequent outbreaks and transmission due to a lack of space, resources (such as volunteer time and PTA funding), and advocacy tools to make fully outdoor lunches possible.”

Seattle school district, teachers reach tentative deal on COVID safety

Parents further voiced those concerns during a meeting with district leaders Tuesday. Moving forward, SPS indicated that it is “currently asking all school leaders to review their lunch plans and determine additional ways to extend physical distancing between students.”

The current plan for meals includes limiting the amount of time students are sitting at lunch, upgrading HVAC systems for indoor cafeteria areas, adding lunch periods to reduce the number of students eating at any given time, and staggering students to maximize physical distancing. Individual schools are required to communicate their own plans for meals to parents and students before Sept. 9.

MyNorthwest News

lead cookware washington...

Frank Sumrall

Washington becomes first state to ban lead in cookware

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Lead in Cookware Act Thursday, banning lead from any products used to cook food.

47 minutes ago

delta sexual assault...

Frank Sumrall

Woman sues Delta Air Lines after sexually assaulted on flight by employee

Last year, a woman was sexually assaulted on a Delta Air Lines flight from Phoenix to Seattle by an airline employee.

2 hours ago

Photo: Lewis and Clark High School students thought quickly to save their track coach's life....

Julia Dallas

Spokane high school students save track coach’s life after his heart stops

Two Spokane high school students used their quick thinking and past training to save their track coach's life last week.

4 hours ago

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

16 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

17 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

18 hours ago

Seattle parents push for schools to move student lunches outdoors