Farmington Schools Distribute Food Boxes

FARMINGTON — Farmington School District handed out more than 20 bags of food Friday afternoon during its first district-wide food pantry to help families during these times.

Terri Strope, assistant superintendent, said families will sign up for the program online and pick up food on Friday afternoons just outside the former Ledbetter Intermediate School cafeteria. Vicky Garvin, who works in the food nutrition department, will serve as coordinator of the program.

Strope said the program does not have a deadline and the school will accept signups every week.

The district recently received a $25,000 grant to administer an Emergency School Pantry and Food Box Program during the 2020-21 school year.

The grant program aims to give low- income families with children additional food assistance. It will provide food boxes for about 40 Farmington families each week.

Strope said this is the first time Farmington has sponsored a district-wide food pantry. Individual schools have provided backpacks with food for children on the weekends.

The school is partnering with NWA Food Bank to distribute food purchased with the grant money.

Strope expects more people will sign up for the program as they learn about it. For now, school counselors have helped to reach out to families to make them aware of the weekly food pantry. Once families sign up, they can let the school know they plan to participate in it each week and then they will not have to keep registering for it online.

For the first week, items in the bags included cans of soup and chili, macaroni and cheese, pasta dinners, crackers, canned fruit, canned meat, grape jelly and a muffin mix.

Strope said the food in the boxes should provide several meals for families and then help to supplement what they already have for other days during the week.

Food handed out each week will depend on what’s available in the Food Bank, Strope said.

Strope said the grant was used to purchase equipment for the food pantry, which includes a commercial freezer and a refrigerator, shelves and a table to prepare the food boxes.

The rest of the money will be used to purchase food. In addition to the grant, the school was given $5,000 worth of food to help get the program started.

Donations will be accepted for the program. In addition, Strope said food drives sponsored by school groups will also help provide food for the program.

The food boxes will be available every Friday, except Fridays when school is not in session.

For more information about the food bank, contact Vicky Garvin, foodbank@farmcards.org.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Vicky Garvin with Farmington School District hands over a bag of food to this family on Friday afternoon. The district has received a food bank grant and is using the money to distribute food boxes every Friday to families who have needs during this time.