Evening star., 1942-10-27
Schools Seek
Volunteers for
Lunch Project
Redistribution Of
222Workers for.Wur
Jobs Upsets System

An appear 1Or volunteer WORKERS
to serve $500 lunches daily In
nearly 10 District schools was
broadcast by school officials today
as the Works Project Administra-
ton announced that 222 employees
who now serve the lunches are to
be reclassif1ed into war jobs or
training for war jobs.
According to Paul Rogers, Dis
trict WPA administrator, I'VE can
keep on preparing the lunches as
long as there is personnel in the
Wisconsin avenue Kitchen"
The difficulty, he said, will be In
handling the lunches after they
leave the kitchen around 10 o'clock
every morning.
The WPA, he said. will need some
assistance In delivering the lunches
to the schools and complete assist
ance in serving it. According to A. K.
Savoy. assistant superintendent in
charge of elementary schools, vol
unteers for this service should re-
port to school officials before the
WPA personnel is withdrawn in
two weeks so that proper training
OF the substitutes can be given.
Volunteers Needed Daily.
IF we can get sufficient volun-
teers," said Mr.. Savoy, mot neces-
sarily the same ones every day, but
enough so we can cover the five
lunches week, we can keep 60
ing"
District officials are considering
three possible means of enlisting
necessary workers to keep the school
lunch project going, it was revealed
by Conrad Hyning, District welfare
director. These are appeals to tho
parent-teacher and home school
groups for volunteer workers, ap-
peals for volunteers from the ranks
of the Civilian Mobilization Division
OF the District OCD, and possibilities
of obtaining employable persons
from the District public assistance
rolls who might be employed on the
project.
Mr.. Van Hyning was advised that
DR.. Frank w. Ballou, superintendent
OF schools, would meet tomorrow
with assistant school superintend-
ents to consider how the gap might
be filled.
Hope for Help From P-TA.
School officials are hoping that
parent-teacher associations, homo
and school associations or other per-
sons interested In child welfare will
volunteer to serve the lunches every
day and to wash the dishes after
ward. WPA washers have been ar
irving at the schools from $3.50 to
10 am. to set tables, and staying
till 2 and 3 pm. to wash dishes.
officials emphasized, however, that
the volunteering must be done i'm
mediately, while WPA workers are
still present to train them.
"It is of no use to us later" ex-
planned Mr.. Savoy. IF we are to
save the lunches it must be done
now"
While there are few If any, en-
playable persons on the District re-
lief lists, some officials thought
some of the needed workers might be
found among persons only partly
disabled.
May Appeal to Congress.
If these or other steps fail to
meet the need, the welfare director
said, 1t may be necessary to appeal
to Congress for an emergency ap-
preparation with which to employ
necessary help. He said stopping Of
the free lunch program would be
very serious"
Mr.. Rogers said he would be able
to keep on the school lunch project
those workers found unified for
work in war industries, but it was
indicated that the number retained
would not be large. Aside from the
workers engaged at the central
kitchen where the lunches are pre-
pared, there are one or two persons
at each Of the 10 schools, employed
to distribute the food and collect and
wash dishes. These workers have
30-hour week.
Food Supplied by sec.
Food for the lunches Is supplied
partly by the Surplus Commodities
Corp, and partly by WPA funds,
The Surplus Commodities foods
will be continued. The WPA can
still supply a little money to the
kitchen, Mr. Rogers said, because
the $6 per worker allowed the WPA
can be put to any purpose the ad-
ministrator sees fit.
The workers in the kitchen itself.
1t was explained, are dependable
persons with slight handicaps or
some other circumstances making
them unsuitable for private en-
ployment.
The move to reclassify WPA work.
ers here was announced yesterday
by Federal Works Administrator
Philip B. Fleming as part of a Ma
tion-wide move to place qualified
WPA workers In industrial and farm
jobs.