ABC 33/40 reported that Wayne Price, a school bus driver in Montevallo, Alabama, bought 50 breakfast sandwiches for students on his bus after Shelby County Schools announced a two-hour weather delay and Montevallo Elementary would not serve breakfast.
What changed that morning
According to ABC 33/40’s report, Price received a text about the delay and learned breakfast would not be available at the elementary school. When he stopped for his own meal, he decided to purchase 50 breakfast sandwiches for his riders.
Why he did it, in his words
“I am not rich. I am in full-time ministry. I am not rich, but you sit there and think about it, you take your family out to dinner, and you can drop $50 going out to dinner, and it was nothing more than bringing my family out to dinner,” Price said, as quoted by ABC 33/40.
He also framed the gesture in terms of faith and the holiday: “Christmas is giving. Christmas is showing love. Christmas is esteeming others greater than yourself,” he said, per the station.
Students and school response
Montevallo Elementary fifth-grader Elizabeth Lopez told ABC 33/40, “I am really thankful for having him as a bus driver, and he feels like a dad to me.”
Principal Dr. Allison Campbell praised Price as “an example and a testament to this community and the schools in Montevallo,” according to the station’s reporting, which also referenced a school district Facebook post about the act.
Background and one request
Price transitioned from full-time ministry in 2013 and became a bus driver after a friend—formerly a principal—encouraged him, ABC 33/40 reported. He said he quickly grew attached to the students he drives across elementary, middle, and high school routes in Montevallo.
Price asked only that the sandwich wrappers not end up on the floor. According to the report, students complied and left the bus clean.
Note: This account reflects ABC 33/40’s December 2018 reporting.
