Salisbury-Rowan Realtors donate to summer meals, literacy programs
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 14, 2018
- Yum Yum Bus driver Mike Davis, left, and School Nutrition Director Lisa Altmann, right, react after receiving a $2,000 donation from the Salisbury Rowan Assocation of Realtors. Rebecca Rider/Salisbury Post
CHINA GROVE — The Salisbury Rowan Association of Realtors has donated $2,000 to the Rowan-Salisbury Schools Summer Meals Program.
The donation was the result of a June golf tournament.
“We’re really grateful,” said Lisa Altmann, RSS director of school nutrition.
The money will support the Summer Meals Program and ‘iRead, iFeed” initiative, which provides free books to children who receive summer meals.
During the July 22 tournament at Revival Golf Course, Altmann and other district food service workers talked to participants about the Summer Meals Program.
Each summer, school nutrition employees provide breakfast and lunch for thousands of Rowan County children at no cost. Roughly 65 percent of RSS students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, and many would not have access to regular meals during the summer without the program. The Summer Meals Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Altmann and her staff also told participants about the program’s “Yum Yum” buses — school buses equipped with diner-style seating that serve the most rural sections of Rowan County.
“I think a lot of people learned a lot,” she said.
Mary Arey, an association member, said the information was beneficial and educational to everyone who participated.
“A lot of players were not Realtors, so people in the community got to learn a lot, too,” she said.
Altmann thanked the association for its continued support. Community partners are one of the reasons the Summer Meals Program has continued to be successful.
“It’s a complete team effort,” she said.
The Realtors association has supported the Summer Meals Program before, and Arey said it is something its members were proud to do.
“We just thought it was a great effort,” she said.
In the future, Altmann hopes to expand the number of Yum Yum buses from two to five. She also hopes to equip them with Wi-Fi and send them out during the school year to serve as homework hot spots, where students can get help and a snack or meal.
Salisbury Rowan Association of Realtors members who presented the donation last Thursday included Mary Arey, Carla Rose, James Poe and Rob Bean.
Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.
