Sam Chowning, Reporter
A new program is being developed to combat issues of student hunger at VHS. Under the name “The Pantry,” the program aims to offer support to students by providing free care packages filled with daily necessities.
They contain not only food, but also shampoo, soap, feminine products and even cosmetics to students in need. If there is any other item or assistance that a student needs, such as a bus pass or a coupon for clothing, they can contact CTE Support and Career Guidance Counselor Desiree Nelson. Nelson can then work with organizations such as Vashon Youth & Family Services or Neighborcare Health to get them the help that they need..
These packages are currently available next to the library outside of the counselors’ offices, and are available to any student at any time, no questions asked.
Until this point, the program has been operating on a purely volunteer-based system, and has been spearheaded by Director of Food Services Lisa Cyra, with substantial assistance from guidance counselors Paul Peretti and Tara Vanselow, Susan Bakker and Desiree Nelson.
Inspired by a similar program at Chautauqua coordinated by Nancy Radford called “The Backpack Pantry,” they decided to take action.
“I’d been thinking about it [when] Susan Bakker came to me with some knowledge of students that were needing to leave [during the school day] to get to the food bank before it ran out of food,” Cyra said. “At Chautauqua, they serve 30 children every Friday and send home a sack of lunch and dinner things. So we knew that was happening, and it just took a little more time for us to realize that we have the same issues.”
As director of food services at VHS, Cyra doesn’t just prepare and distribute food to students daily; she also procures the ingredients for school meals.
“I’m really good at purchasing — it’s my job,” Cyra said. “I know where to go to buy stuff in bulk.”
She has been able to apply these skills to The Pantry, purchasing food and preparing separate meals for students in need.
An anonymous survey recently conducted by Cyra indicates the severity of the hunger problem at VHS. Out of 67 respondents, 14.9 percent stated that their family runs out of food, and 16.4 percent stated that there are times when they go hungry.
Operating separately from the school, the program’s expenses are ideally covered by donations, but frequently funds have come out of Cyra’s own pocket as well as those of other volunteers.
“It’s just some of us knowing that there’s a need, and we’re doing something about it,” Cyra said.
As the program makes the transition from an informal association of volunteers to an official nonprofit organization, they aim to spread awareness of the program and boost donation amounts.
“We want to turn this into a more sustainable [program],” Cyra said. “We would like to have more donations coming in, so that we can sustain it.”
Donations in the form of cash, checks made out to Vashon Island High School, or easily preparable food are welcome, and can be given to either Susan Bakker at the front office or Lisa Cyra to help keep the program running and to help eliminate student hunger.
As some families have no more than a microwave to prepare food with, foods like boxes of mac and cheese or bunches of apples are preferable to items such as bags of flour, which require multiple cooking supplies and ingredients to turn into a meal.
Although the program continues to strike a delicate balance between making students feel comfortable taking what they need with sufficient privacy and making the program open and accessible to all in regard to the placement of the care packages, Cyra stressed that if a student is facing any difficult circumstance or situation, they should just come and take what they need.
“I don’t want anybody, any of you, to go hungry,” Cyra said. “And I don’t want you to go home and wonder, ‘How am I [going to] make it through?’ … We really want to encourage kids to take advantage of it. Don’t be shy.”