Over 100 teenagers who attend our high schools each day are homeless. Across the local high school population, 43% of students qualify for free and reduced breakfast/lunch programs.
Each school day, these young people are making a choice to improve their future, despite their living situation.
How can we, as a community, support these young people? We can provide access to healthy food beyond the school day and empower them to care for themselves, their families, and their future.
The lack of food availability for teens was initially raised during a collaboration meeting on Food Insecurity in 2018. It proved to be a complicated issue. How do we provide food to minors who attend school during the week? We needed transportation, a safe and accessible distribution site, volunteers that were background--checked, and the cooperation of multiple organizations. We persisted in our efforts and in February 2020, in cooperation with Interfaith Food Ministry and Nevada Joint Union High School District we have established the county’s first high school campus food pantry.
"I volunteered because I thought that I could help students in need. What I experienced was a group of young adults empowered to take care of themselves, their families, and loved ones." --Deborah Lewis
