Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
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centurymortgage.com LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.17 31 — applesauce, yogurt, no teeth necessary. In the 45 minutes Hull remains onsite, many older siblings escort clusters of younger children. An official with JCPS's Nutrition Services says the Bus Stop Cafe idea was "stolen" from a school system in the Denver area. Partic- ipation in the program has nearly doubled since adding the mobile food-delivery service four years ago. Last year JCPS served a total of about 170,000 lunches on the buses and at the 127 feeding locations. The government only reim- burses for meals eaten onsite, to ensure that kids, not adults, eat the food, and every minute or so Hull asks, "You gonna eat here?" Most kids exit out the back of the bus. "Gonna go back with my parents," a young boy in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pajamas says. "Today is 'grab-bag day'!" Hull says as she passes out temporary tattoos and erasers to kids who stay on the bus to eat, enticing them with the little prizes. Hull laughs when thinking about her stops at the Fairdale and Sun Valley public pools. "The kids come in soaking wet and the air conditioner (on the bus) is on so they're freezing," she says. "So we put a tarp outside and they get to sit out in the sun." There's a young mom with five children whom Hull chats with every day, making sure to let out a big laugh when one of the kids reads a joke written on the back of his milk carton. Hull will serve about 75 children in the lot today. Then it's on to another trailer park, an apartment complex and the public pools in the late after- noon. This south Louisville route is different than the one Hull did last year, but already the kids have grown to love "Miss Mary." As a young brunette girl leaves the bus, Hull reminds her that if she eats on the bus all week, five days in a row, she'll get a big prize — a jump rope. The young girl squeezes Hull's shoulders and Hull hugs back. "See you tomorrow. Love you," Hull says as the girl heads toward regal trees that guard a maze of mobile homes.