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For sustainability we focused on the economic sustainability of the National School Lunch Program and food pantries. For human impacts we focused on how information is disseminated to students and their families.
Sustainability
1. School-Based Food Pantry at Rudder High School. One of the challenges with the school-based food pantry at Rudder High School is that it currently runs 100% off of donations. This could be a potential shortcoming in the future as more students begin to utilize this new food pantry. Currently supply is meeting student demand, but what will happen if 50-100 students are using this food pantry by the end of the year as Donald Brown predicts? How can this problem be addressed? (Hint: think of ways to increase funding or make the budget go farther. Also, who are some people in the local community that Mr. Brown could reach out to and ask for assistance?)
The school-based food pantry
2. Bryan ISD Food Pantry. Tara Dupper's office building houses a food pantry for Bryan ISD. Though this food pantry serves several schools in the district, it is especially important for Rudder High School students and families as it is located on MLK street in Bryan, where many of Rudder's students and their families live. This food pantry also runs entirely off of donations and Tara has also written and obtained some small grants from local businesses. However, she mentioned that they have run out of money before and were unable to provide food when people visited. How can this problem be addressed?
3. National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Sundy Fryrear is in charge of ordering food for all schools in Bryan ISD, including Rudder High School. She believes the NSLP is economically sustainable despite the growing trend in students relying on free or reduced lunch. For the 2017-2018 school year, 76% of students at Rudder High School are on free or reduced lunch (see graph below). At the school cafeterias, managers are required to keep a food production record to ensure that waste is kept to a minimum. Also, programs such as the commodities program help to offset costs by utilizing surplus crops that are given to the school district.
Human Impacts
1. WIC and SNAP. One of the common concerns of Donald Brown and Dr. Joseph Sharkey was that many of the families who qualify for food assistance programs such as WIC and SNAP are unaware that they qualify. This is a lost opportunity for income generation and can exacerbate food insecurity. Another concern that Tara Dupper mentioned is that policies of these programs could be more forgiving for families who lose their home. From her experience in working with these families, they sometimes forget to contact the WIC and SNAP programs to update their address when they move and this causes them to lose their benefits.
2. School-Based Food Pantry at Rudder High School. Principal Mayes and Donald Brown both mentioned the challenge of getting students to obtain the assistance they need. It can be really difficult for students to admit they need food assistance as they feel ashamed of needing to ask for help and fear what their classmates and teachers might think of them. Donald Brown has helped his students overcome this barrier by sharing his story with them of how he relied on food assistance when he was a high school student. To make students aware of the new food pantry, teachers have been announcing it to their classes. How might the school create a culture where students feel they can utilize the food pantry without the fear of being made fun of by their classmates?
3. Rudder High School Meal Policies. Students are allowed to self-serve fruits and vegetables, but items such as meats or pizzas are portioned for students to reduce overeating and encourage the consumption of more fruits and vegetables. No desserts are served by the cafeteria staff. Also, free or reduced price breakfast is offered at the school even though the school is not required to offer it. Prices for meals are set by a federal government formula to accommodate students based on their economic needs.
4. National School Lunch Program. Applications are distributed to families in both English and Spanish. Families using SNAP and TANF are auto-enrolled. Additionally Bryan ISD School Nutrition Services has bilingual staff members to assist English and Spanish-speaking families with the application.
5. Local food pantries. Information on local food pantries is shared with students and displayed in the front office.
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