SHAMOKIN -- Most students in the Shamokin Area School District aren’t in class while their teachers are on strike, but many of them are still getting hot meals.
Volunteers served hamburgers, green beans, noodles, and applesauce to some hungry children at Antioch Place near Shamokin. The volunteers are from an organization called God's Chuckwagon. They are making sure students in the Shamokin Area School District get a hot lunch while their teachers are on strike.
"A lot of children get free breakfast and free lunch and there's a lot out there that aren't being fed at all. With this strike, they're going hungry," volunteer Christine Keefer said.
Teachers went on strike on January 20 and are due back in the classrooms late next week.
"It's quite an inconvenience. I'm a stay-at-home mom so it's not so rough for me, but I'm sure a lot of the working parents see that as a big struggle," Ashley Landon said.
So the crew from God's Chuckwagon wanted to lessen the burden on parents and feed children.
"We're here as long as the strike is going on," Keefer said.
Ashley Landon of Shamokin says the free lunches are a blessing.
"We live month to month like most people around here do so it helps out. It helps stretch out our food stamps a little bit more and our income. It's a big help. It's a real big help," Landon said.
Landon's daughter agrees.
"It's yummy."
"It's yummy? What's your favorite thing?"
"Applesauce," Ella Landon said.
The volunteers make sure the kids don't leave hungry. When they leave, they hand them a snack so they have something to take home.
Antioch Place is located on North Market Street in Shamokin. The free lunch program runs from noon until 1:30 p.m. every day during the strike.