With many students in City Connects schools facing food insecurity at home, City Connects Coordinators and Program Managers have always worked with community partners – local food banks, mobile food pantries, grocery stores, and churches – to ensure that no member of the school community goes without food.
Hunger undermines a student’s readiness to learn. Headaches and stomachaches may mean an inability to focus in class, dysregulated behavior, or a trip to the school nurse.
As winter sets in and the holiday season arrives, families are navigating a changing social safety net. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for example, is impacted by the recent government shutdown and policy changes. Families are making hard choices between food and rent, between food and a child’s winter jacket, between food and a child’s asthma inhaler.
City Connects is continuing to weave a network of care around each student and their family.
Building bridges in Gary, Indiana
At GEO 21st Century Academy in Gary, Indiana, Coordinator Martin McCary makes sure that students and their families are aware of every potential resource pertaining to food access in town.
“Whether [students are] checking in, giving me an update, or having a social or emotional need, I’m here for them,” McCary said.
McCary has been able to connect students to community resources focused on food insecurity, including local churches, a brick-and-mortar food bank, and a mobile food bank via the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana that operates every Saturday in November and December.
When he started in his role, McCary noticed that many students’ families were either unaware of food assistance resources in Gary or didn’t feel comfortable communicating their needs.
“[The students and their families] didn’t have a person to be a bridge,” said McCary. As he learned more about the students and families who are part of the school community, and more about the organizations available to help, McCary worked with partners to develop solutions that better meet the needs of the school community. For example, he recently spearheaded the creation of a temporary food pantry on the GEO campus.
“One of the best things that Coordinators do is delve into their communities,” said City Connect’s Director of Student Support Programs and Practice Cynthia Scheller.
Community solutions in Salem, Massachusetts
Program Manager Elizabeth Yoder, who’s also Director of Student Support at Salem Public Schools, has observed a growth in hunger in her district, which is home to more than 3,600 students.
“[Food insecurity has] developed drastically in the past few weeks and months,” said Yoder. “Our team remains committed to serving the needs of Salem families and partnering with community agencies to meet these needs.”
Partnerships across Salem have afforded the Salem Public Schools opportunities to think creatively about addressing the current issue of food insecurity in the community. Planned collaborations include a “food drop” offered in conjunction with the Salem Pantry and a co-sponsored family dinner with ROOT.
To address this increased need, The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) has awarded a $2 million grant to The Salem Pantry to lease a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in Salem, strategically located on the borders of Lynn and Peabody, to better serve the surrounding communities.
This resource allows not only for more food to be readily available, but also for more to be available in general. Previously, a high percentage of food items had to be trucked in from out of town, making it difficult to respond to increases in community needs. With added storage, more food will be readily available, and the new process will lead to more fruitful distributions.
Food insecurity during the holidays
Scheller emphasized Thanksgiving week as a critical time for City Connects partners, noting the work of community partner Every Meal in Minnesota.
The nonprofit is an active partner in six of the 10 City Connects schools in the state: Ascension Academy, Blessed Trinity, Community of Saints, Risen Christ, St. John Paul II, and St. Pascal. Their mission is to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships.
Coordinator Anne Mee of Blessed Trinity Catholic School said, “I love the accessibility of Every Meal weekend food bags. I always have enough on hand that I can provide to a family in need without any additional planning, meaning that I know they will have something at home immediately.”
Earlier this month, Minnesota Program Manager Peyton Schick and several other team members volunteered at Every Meal’s modern facility. Along with dozens of other volunteers, they completed an orientation and broke into assembly lines to pack non-perishable food items for local students. The event resulted in 3,504 bags packed, the equivalent of more than 13,000 meals.
“Working with Every Meal has exceeded all of my expectations,” said Schick. “Not only are they a wonderful organization to work with, but their mission also aligns with the work we do at City Connects by addressing external factors, such as hunger, that may be impacting students’ ability to thrive at school.”
