It was not an initiative Goose Creek High was expecting to have this year, but it is something that has morphed into a great school/community partnership.
Ever since last semester, students and staff have joined together to establish – and grow – a food pantry on campus to assist Gator families in need.
The food pantry all started with a community member reaching out to law education/youth court teacher Amanda Cooper in October, out of concern about how the government shutdown and decrease in SNAP benefits would affect Goose Creek High families. SNAP benefits are federal funds provided to low-income households to aid grocery budgets.
The community member actually bought all sorts of food items and brought it to the school to start supporting any of Goose Creek High’s families who might need the extra help. The school went on to hold a donation drive during which students and staff members brought even more food items.
“It’s something that we didn’t know we needed, but our kids have been awesome,” Amanda said.
The school has really embraced the new venture. One staff member wrote a check for $100 so the school could buy more supplies for what has since been named the Gator Pantry.
The pantry was being housed in the classroom of American government teacher (and Amanda’s husband) Chris Cooper, but the school has received so many items that the pantry has now been relocated to the school’s Career and Technical Education wing.
It has also become a great tool for student organizations to use for service learning; the Black Student Union, National Honors Society, the cheer team and Berkeley Center for the Arts, have all been particularly charitable. Principal Will Wilson even challenged the groups to a friendly competition last semester to see which one could gather the most items; the winning groups came down to the cheer team and chorus members, who were rewarded with a pizza party.
Wilson said the Gator Pantry has strengthened Goose Creek High’s home/school relationships through the power of community and collaboration.
“It is evident that when home/school connections are strong, meaningful and positive outcomes are achieved,” he said.
It is all dry and nonperishable items being stored in the pantry – canned goods, cereals, snacks and powdered milk, to name a few. Chef Boyardee items and canned soups are pretty popular, as are the microwaveable cups of Ramen. One staff member had a creative idea to create Ziploc meal bags; these bags each contain a printed-out recipe and the ingredients needed to make the dish.
Some less-stocked items include canned protein, as well as toiletries and hygiene products – these are sought-after items the school would like to keep receiving to keep on hand.
The items are for anybody who needs it; the school has posted flyers with a QR code that takes families to a Google Form where parents and guardians can fill out to request items. The school’s social worker, Cathryn Hart, will then coordinate with the family to help them receive their food items.
Amanda said it has been moving to see the school come together to support this project. She said the school has some military families that were affected by the government shutdown – something she did not realize until the school looked at responses on the Google Form. Some of the responses came from families of her own students.
“I think that one of the things that we did not anticipate was we are now helping 20 or so families,” she said.
When a family reaches out for help, the school can assemble bags of items for them, but Amanda said they will sometimes let family members “shop” for what they need.
“One of the kids that we just helped, it was their birthday – they were able to bake their own cake and cook a meal with their family,” she said. “It’s pretty awesome.”
The plan is to keep the pantry open next year and through the upcoming summer. The school has a new Blessing Box, constructed by one of the students as a Boy Scout project, and the National Honor Society has agreed to help keep the box stocked during the summer in case someone at the school is not immediately available to get to the family. The box will be installed near the school’s clothing donation box.
While students and staff help donate to the Gator Pantry by bringing items to the Coopers’ classrooms, community members are invited to help by reaching out to the front office to coordinate dropping off items.
“We’ll gladly take anything that will help our students’ families,” Amanda said.
