Dumont restaurant raises money for free lunches for students amid COVID-19 out-break

Some of the industries hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak are restaurants and schools, so one local restaurant owner decided that now was the perfect time to work together to curb some of the damage and ease concerns.

Starting last week, Brandon Barber and the Community Bowl Bar and Grill in Dumont began offering free lunches for children in the area.

On Sunday, March 15, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recommended Iowa schools close for a minimum of four weeks to help prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. The following Tuesday, she limited bars and restaurants to take-out and delivery operations only. In the wake of a move that put many in limbo, Barber saw an opportunity to help.

“A lot of kids depend on that free and reduced lunch and we want to cover that while they’re out of school,” he said.

Barber said lunches will be offered on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for children in kindergarten through 12th grade as long as supplies last that day beginning at 11 a.m. Along with the free lunches, parents and guardians can still order from the restaurant’s full menu for regular cost and have those meals to-go. A free-will offering will be available at the door to help Community Bowl continue to offer the program.

Barber said the first week of the program, which began last Wednesday, will be a test period. Meals will include a simple main dish that can be made quickly for a number of people, a drink and some side items. The program began with hotdogs last Wednesday and Barber said they’ll likely include spaghetti, chicken nuggets and other items similar to school lunches.

The original idea was to charge a minimal amount for the lunches, but once he pitched the thought, support flooded in.

“Ten minutes after I suggested it we had four or five people who wanted to donate,” he said. “Within hours, we had raised $1,000 for the kids’ meals.”

While donations and support allowed Barber to offer the meal for free, he said that the reaction to his idea is typical of small town Iowa and Dumont in particular.

“This kind of thing proves what small towns can do,” he said. “When people might be in trouble, we help each other out. That’s part of being a small town.

“I knew we could count on the support of everyone around,” he added.

Barber said that he couldn’t think of another option than to continue to serve the community in any way possible. While the shut downs hurt his business, he knows that the pain is temporary but the importance of the community lasts forever.

“If you let all the panic and craziness of this get to you, it puts you down,” he said. “To have something that gives you hope for the future keeps you driving.”