Pantry provides for Panthers in need

Because of the Panther Pantry, approximately 31 high school students are currently receiving food for the weekend before they leave school on Friday.

“The Panther Pantry is a weekend take-home food bag with two entrees, a fruit, a vegetable and cereal to supplement households that are food insecure,” said Milton Food Service Director Ms. Sharon Adami.

The leadership team, including Ms. Adami, started the Panther Pantry in the 2017–18 school year, she explained. The High School’s Pantry is located in the literacy café.

“We took over one of the storerooms that were in there,” she added, explaining that there is also a pantry in the middle school and in all three elementary schools.

“I organize who gets the packs, and then Ms. Roush’s special needs class actually packs them for me,” said Ms. Adami.

“This has helped build relationships with the incoming students. Also, students get to use their math skills to count of supplies and number of packs needed for any given week,” said Life Skills Support Teacher Ms. Ellen Roush.  “I feel it is satisfying for them to know that we are helping out others by ensuring they have good food for over the weekend.”

Ms. Adami added that all the secretaries in the middle school and the guidance secretary in the high school help her distribute the packs.

According to Ms. Adami, there is plenty of help preparing the packs. “Ms. Roush uses it as a learning experience for her students,” she added.

“Most of the food we purchase from the food bank in Williamsport; although we take very specific donations like canned fruit and vegetables, boxed cereal, granola bars, and soup,” said Ms. Adami. She added that the middle school student council did a food drive and collected food for the pantry.

“Sometimes I am very specific to what I can use; we tend to send things home like peanut butter, pasta, sauce, soup, cereal, and things that almost everybody likes,” added Ms. Adami.

According to Ms. Adami, the panty is supported by monetary donations from the Milton Area School District. “Randomly staff will donate, and we have over $100 each paycheck that the Milton Area School District employees have directly withdrawn from their paychecks to support the Panther Pantry,” she said, another way staff supports the pantry is by having a dress down day each year, added Ms. Adami.

The Panther Pantry will also be expanding to accept toiletry items like toothbrushes and toothpaste, body wash, wipes, laundry detergent, kitchen soap and hand wash, said Ms. Adami.

Ms. Adami said to sign up for a backpack, students can complete the Panther Pantry Registration Form on Sapphire. Students can also ask their guidance counselor or contact her.

The Panther Pantry is open on Fridays for students to get their backpacks of food to take home.