Foodlink is expanding its network of school-based food pantries across the Rochester region.
One of the newest to open is at Williamson High School in northwest Wayne County. The pantry, which has been fully operational since January, is one of about 80 food pantries located at area K-12 schools and colleges that partner with the Rochester-based non-profit.
Some of the pantries are open just to students and their families, while others are accessible to the larger community. Those that are open year-round are now preparing for the transition to summer.
The Williamson pantry is open to the community year-round, and stocked with donations from school staffers and students, and by Foodlink.
“We've been trying to do food boxes with food menus in them that are like easy to make, so like hamburger helper or goulash or chicken alfredo,” said Molly St. Cyr, the district’s community schools coordinator . “So, we try to build a box around that recipe.”
Her practical approach stems from her own experience with food insecurity when she was younger.
“I used to get food boxes, and I would be like, what do I even do with this?” she said. "I was a single mom, you know, 19 years old, and I'm just like, ‘what do I do with dried beans? I don't even know how to cook beans.’”
Nearly half of students enrolled in Williamson Central School District are economically disadvantaged, according to the state education department.
“Anyone who's food insecure is vulnerable. But kids in school? I mean, they're particularly vulnerable.” said Eric Evans, school programs coordinator at Foodlink. “They're hungry for reasons beyond their control. So if we can help to start to address that, that feels like a good reason to do the work.”
About a dozen such pantries have opened this school year, Evans said.
Williamson will continue to operate from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm. Weekdays throughout the summer, St. Cyr said.
Gates Chili Central School District’s food pantry, which is open every other Wednesday and serves students and their families, also has summer hours.
The Rochester City School District has the most food pantries out of any school organization in the area, according to a dataset provided by Foodlink. More than an dozen of those will be open over the summer, including at Padilla High School, Edison Tech High School, and the Restorative H.U.B, according to district spokespersons. A full list is below.
Demand for emergency food has been steadily rising in the past year, a Foodlink spokesperson said. Now, the organization is bracing for June 1, when changes to the federal Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program might result in many people losing those benefits or seeing them reduced.
Congress approved a bill last July that cut SNAP funding and changed eligibility requirements.
“If you know there's food in the house, it's one less thing the parents have to worry about, right?” Evans said. “They've got enough other things they're trying to manage and juggle.”
Rochester City School District pantries open over the summer:
School No. 8
School No. 9
School No. 16
School No. 22
School No. 28
School No. 33
School No. 45
Padilla High School
East High School
Monroe High School
Edison High School
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
Freddie Thomas Middle School
ROC Restorative H.U.B
