Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Brett Green
AUGUSTA — Cony High School has opened its own food pantry. The founding Key Club is attempting to supply students with the food they need but cannot afford.
Cony’s food pantry officially began early the week of October 31st. It provides food to students for weekends making sure they receive the required vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. This is the club’s way of giving back to the community, their way of helping our future generation become successful and happy.
The Key Club is an organization sponsored by Kiwanis International, a group that works hard to provide public services to help the children of the United States. They perform various tasks, from cleaning up local parks to organizing food drives. Cony has sponsored a Key Club dating back to the 1980s.
Advisor Tammy Roberts described the pantry’s mission, and how she felt about it. “The purpose of the program is to get the kids food that they want and/or need. We want to ensure every child is ready to learn without a growling stomach.”
Food is donated by students, staff and community members. Often people will bring donations to the front office, which then calls the advisors, who then instruct Key Club members to pick it up. It is then placed in a food closet in the CATC building, where students bag the groceries, based on a client’s needs.
Science teacher Laurie Dale, another Key Club advisor, described the process that students must then follow: “Students who want food over the weekend must fill out a menu of specific foods, which is then handed to the secretary of the Health Suite. It’s taken to a teacher’s homeroom in Cony where the lunches are put together, and finally sent to the students on Friday just before they depart.” This is to keep student identity private.
The faculty is excited about it, knowing that some of their students arrive hungry to school every day. “It’s a worthwhile endeavor, and I’m impressed that Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Dale have helped the Key Club with this project. No one should go hungry,” said English teacher Heather Ackeley.
Submitted photo: Senior Logan Ledbetter is busy packing food to help hungry students at Cony.
