SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. – More than 12,000 food items are going to families in need within the Parkland School District.
“Many have a misconception, the feeling as if we don’t deal with insecurity in the Lehigh Valley, and it is the opposite,” said Amy Boltz a 6th grade teacher and pantry coordinator.
As students sorted through the 20,000 pounds of food collected, they were able to learn about the reality that many of their classmates face each day.
“Nearly one in three students within the Parkland School District itself is suffering from food insecurity and Parkland Cares through our choice pantry are serving roughly 216 families each month,” said Katrina Sundstrom the executive director of Parkland Cares Food Pantry.
All of the food will stock school food pantries with the leftovers heading to Parkland Cares.
In just two weeks, students and staff were able to collect the items. Students serving as more than sorters, many of them going one step further and advocating for their neighbors.
“It allows us the opportunity to tap into young minds and learn from their ideas and what they would like to see,” said Boltz.
“It’s important for them to see the need in their own community and get their hands on that food so that maybe that seed of wanting to give back to their community is planted in them,” said Sundstrom.