MACF Grants to Central Middle School Food Pantry

Posted: Sep 25 2024


The Minot Area Community Foundation (MACF) has granted $2,400 to Central Middle School to establish a school food pantry. The grant was made possible through the Minot Area Community Foundation’s Arnold I. Besserud Fund, which is dedicated to serving food pantries, soup kitchens and humanitarian needs along with other priority needs in the community.
 
With the transition to a middle school this fall, Central school staff recognized that they would be starting from the ground up, needing to rebuild many resources that had previously supported students at their former middle school.
 
Central Middle School serves several of Minot’s lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and about 50% of families are at or below the poverty level. When students face challenges like food insecurity, they are often not able to focus on learning and just being a kid. The newly established school pantry is stocked with grocery items that are sent home with students each Friday, to ensure these students have meals over the weekend. The pantry also houses snack items for student and classroom use.
Shannon Ostrom, Dean of Students at Central Middle School shares, "We are so grateful to the Minot Area Community Foundation for making it possible to start our school year out with a fully functional pantry to help meet the needs of our students and families. It's been so exciting and fulfilling to see this come together."
 
The grant funding was designated to purchase equipment to get the school pantry up and running and to effectively store the food items that are distributed to students each Friday. Equipment needs included shelving, storage items, a refrigerator & freezer and cooler bags for safe and discreet food transport. Currently, 16 students benefit from the weekly grocery program, and staff are confident that participation will continue to grow.
 
“The ongoing pressure of inflation continues to drive food insecurity issues,” states Jason Zimmerman, MACF President. “It is critical that we provide support to these efforts that make sure our developing youth have what they need to grow and be successful.”