T-L Photo/KIM NORTH THE BRIDGEPORT Exempted Village School District and its food service staff are presented with the Children’s Hunger Alliance Child Nutrition Award. Pictured, from left, are Rick Oxley, representing Children’s Hunger Alliance; Bridgeport Exempted Village School District Food Service Director Donna Burlenski; and Bridgeport Exempted Village School District Superintendent Brent Ripley.

BRIDGEPORT — When schools across the nation were shut down last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five children — approximately 529,000, across Ohio — were deemed food insecure.

That wasn’t the case in the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District, though. Members of the food service staff and volunteers coordinated meals that families picked up at the school, ensuring that the students had access to food to meet their nutritional needs. And when students returned to their classrooms, whether full time or under a hybrid in-person/remote learning model, their efforts continued.

As a result, the district, specifically Food Service Director Donna Burlenski and her staff, recently received a statewide award from the nonprofit group Children’s Hunger Alliance.

“In the fall, the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District applied for, and received, a Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry school meal grant for $15,000, enabling school breakfast to be delivered to and eaten in the classroom, increasing students access to a healthy breakfast,” Rick Oxley, representing Children’s Hunger Alliance, said during a recent board of education meeting.

“It is my honor to present the Children’s Hunger Alliance Child Nutrition Award to Bridgeport Schools, Mrs. Donna Burlenski and her dedicated staff,” Oxley added.

Burlenski was very appreciative of the honor. She was presented with a plaque that read “In recognition of maximizing access to school meals to meet students nutritional needs.”

“We’re very blessed and honored to receive this award. My staff worked tremendously hard. We came in and prepared, we packed and made sure that every student in the district got a breakfast and lunch,” she said. “That’s why we work for the schools … the kids.”

Burlenski has been with the school district for 33 years.

Oxley, in fact, volunteered during one of Bridgeport’s handouts and came away very impressed.

“I was really touched, No. 1 by how much fun the volunteers were having while handing out the food, but, secondly, how much the community cares about the kids,” he recalled. “I travel to 44 counties across the state and your handout was very organized. There was a genuine sense of caring in your community that I wish I could bottle and take to other places.”

Oxley said his group handed out nearly $800,000 across the state.

Children’s Hunger Alliance was founded in 1970. It has a team of 50 professionals throughout the state who are passionate about ending childhood hunger in Ohio’s 88 counties. Its home office is based in Columbus, but it has regional offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.

“We partner with organizations throughout the state to provide nutritious meals to at-risk children who need them most,” Oxley added. “We help daycare providers, daycare centers, local school districts and after-school and summer programs provide balanced, healthy meals to children in their care. Our team of educators also deliver nutrition education and lead children in physical activities to provide a balanced approach to childhood health.”

Oxley said this is the first year the award has been presented. He said approximately 40 were given statewide.