Food Pantry Opens In Suburban Elementary School
(CBS) -- Did you know that more than 13 million children in the United States don't know where their next meal will come from?
Thousands of them live in the Chicago area. CBS 2's Mai Martinez takes a look at how one organization in DuPage County is trying to fight that by opening a food pantry in a school.
At Anne M. Jeans Elementary School, 86 percent of the students come from low-income families. So, they get free breakfast and lunch, and soon they'll be getting free food to take home, too.
"Food scarcity is a reality in our country, and it's certainly a reality in our community, and so anything we can do to make that less stigmatizing is certainly important," School Supt. Tom Schneider says.
The pantry is run by HCS Family Services.
"We chose this school because this community has the highest need in Southeast DuPage County," Director Debbie Baker says. "One in five children in this community are at risk of going to bed hungry."
For two years, Tricie Graham and her family used the HCS Family Service food pantry in nearby Hinsdale.
She's thrilled that this one will be at her daughter's school.
"I'm a mother of four children, so this is absolutely just very convenient," she says.
Graham says the food pantry saves her family hundreds of dollars each month.
In addition to food, the pantry also offers household items like light bulbs and personal care products, including diapers.
The school-based food pantry officially opens Nov. 30. After that, every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. families can pick up whatever they need.
Right now, there are enough resources to keep the pantry open for six months. HCS Family Services hopes the community will help sustain it after that.
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