Charles City School food pantry receives grants

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

When students at Charles City High School opened up a food pantry for their fellow students last year, they had no idea how important it was going to be this year.

“It’s obviously a huge need right now, and we’re working to fill that need,” said CCHS senior Sadie Gebel, who works with other students to restock the pantry. Gebel said that last month the pantry went through about 1,700 pounds of food.

“Last year, when we started this, we were filling the pantry once a week, and things weren’t ever completely gone,” said Dan Caffrey, Charles City High School at-risk coordinator and drop-out prevention specialist. “Now, we’re filling them two or three times a week, and it’s been emptied — they’re gone.”

Caffrey is the faculty leader of Project RISE, the peer-mentoring program that launched the food pantry last year. He said that before this year, students would pick and choose food or items they needed — now it doesn’t make a difference, everything goes.

“The kids try to refill it as fast as they can,” he said.

The school food pantry got a bit of a boost recently, as Jodi Hammond-Milleson, a grant handler for the Elks Club, wrote a grant that included $2,000 for help with COVID-related food relief. She pegged the Project RISE Student Food Pantry program for that money. She also recently got $500 in gift cards for the food pantry in another grant.

Caffrey said at the start of the school year, the pantry’s supplies were pretty depleted, and he sent a district-wide email out requesting donations. Hammond-Milleson got wind of the request, found an available grant for COVID food relief, did the shopping and had the supplies shipped to the school.

“It was just what we needed,” said Caffrey.

Project RISE — which stands for “Respect, Integrity, Success, and Empowerment,” is a student-led, peer-to-peer mentoring program where high school kids volunteer their time to help middle school kids.

For years, the program has maintained a closet which is filled with donated items for kids who, for whatever reason, don’t have them. Things such as clothing, shoes, sporting supplies and toiletry and hygienic items are accepted and stored there.

What started off as a small collection of things like clothing and shoes eventually evolved to include personal items and much more. Last year, it expanded to food — and as it turns out, that expansion couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Students who have challenges getting fed away from school are welcome to take food home with them, and kids involved in after-school activities are encouraged to get a quick snack before their practices.

The pantry now has new shelving, a new a washer and dryer so students can wash clothes, and a freezer.

“We also have been able to get everything more organized now,” said Gebel. “The Northeast Iowa Food Bank has stepped in and we get food from them every other week. That helps a lot.”

Caffrey said that Charles City’s Project RISE program is the first such program to partner with the food bank.

“It’s been a really good partnership with them,” he said. “If not for that partnership, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”

Senior Addie Olson, who also works to restock the pantry, said that donations are always needed.

“There are a lot of different drop boxes around town — Hy-Vee, the YMCA, SNAP Fitness, H&R Block and at the schools,” she said. “That is really helpful for us.”

People can also donate online, via Amazon Wish List. A donor can fill out a wish list online and the items are shipped to the school district.

“It’s a nice convenient way for someone to donate, without leaving their home,” Caffrey said.