Norwalk High student helps families in need
NORWALK — Garrett Hickey wasn’t surprised when he first heard Jeremiah Simeon, one the seniors on his Norwalk boys basketball team, had started a food pantry at the high school.
Nor was he surprised that Simeon hadn’t mentioned it to his coaches or teammates until it was up and running.
As the Norwalk High coach says, that’s just “typical” for Simeon.
“He’s the type of kid who, when he’s passionate about something, he puts his heart and mind into it; he puts 100 percent into it,” Hickey said. “He doesn’t want any sort of recognition for it or anything like that.
“He just wants to do what he’s passionate about.”
The seeds for the food pantry, which opened in February, were planted last summer as part of a student service project with Saving All Vessels Equity.
“We had to pick a struggle or some adversity people were facing and could relate to,” Simeon said. “Some people chose police violence or poverty, I picked food insecurity.”
Simeon studied food insecurity in Norwalk and found sources and quality of food available in different parts of the city were not equal.
“The church where we started in South Norwalk, the access to food that they have and the quality of the food — you could tell the difference,” Simeon said.
Simeon launched the food pantry with the help of Nicol Ayers, a director with SAVE.
“Since she had more connections, she was able to piece everything together and make this possible,” Simeon said.
Ayers previously said she learned about Stop & Shop’s School Food Pantry program, and said the supermarket donated $2,500 in December to help get the project off the ground.
She said Norwalk High was the first school in Fairfield County to receive assistance through the program.
The Norwalk High food pantry is located in the lobby of the school, in front of the main office, in an area known as “The Den.”
A small room is stocked with donated products, including canned foods, cereals, pasta and other goods.
Simeon said the goal is to feed at least 40 families per week, but at the moment, the pantry is still getting traction and he’s trying to spread awareness about it.
Simeon said he received a positive response when his teammates on the basketball team found out what he was doing.
“All of my teammates have been supportive and are willing to help,” Simeon said. “Even other students, when they saw it, they’ve been asking me if they can be behind the door helping me and passing things out or doing whatever they can. It’s been a positive reaction.”
Hickey said Simeon’s cool and quiet demeanor extends to the basketball court, where he earned the respect of FCIAC coaches, who voted him to the conference’s all-defensive team.
“He plays really hard on the court and he’s tough on the exterior, but on the interior he’s just a really, really good kid,” Hickey said. “Everybody’s happy for him that he’s doing something he’s passionate about and he’s helping the community they all live in.
“This service mission is something he’s passionate about. He learned how to do it on his own and when he figured out how to do it, he got the job done.”
One of the reasons he didn’t ask for help from teammates, Simeon said, was that he wanted to keep his energy going in one direction.
“The more you focus on what you’re trying to do yourself,” he said, “the more it allows you to do it to the best of your ability.”
Simeon will graduate in June as part of Norwalk’s Class of 2022. He hopes another student will work with Ayers to continue the food pantry.
“Looking back, that would be a good feeling knowing that you started something that’s fulfilling and is helping,” Simeon said. “If I didn’t take that first step, whatever positive
comes out of this wouldn’t have happened.”
The pantry is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3-6 p.m. Anyone wishing to donate can contact Nicol Ayers at nayers@saveinc.org.