Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — The Yankton School District is getting ready to open a food pantry at one of its elementary schools.
The pantry, called Food for Thought, will run at Lincoln Elementary School from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month beginning Sept. 14, The Yankton Press & Dakotan (http://bit.ly/2bmZGIm) reported.
The pantry is a pilot program with Feeding South Dakota to determine the need of such a project in the Yankton community. It'll be available to families with a child enrolled in the school district.
"There are kids in high school that may be raising their siblings, be on their own or be teen parents," said Paul Struck, Lincoln Elementary principal. "So there's a need for it."
Struck said the pantry is handicapped accessible and has a parking lot nearby.
Struck is coordinating the effort alongside his daughter, Allison Struck, who came up with the idea through her position as BackPack program coordinator for Feeding South Dakota.
"I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to work with my dad on this innovative new program," Allison said. "He's the best advocate for children I know, and there's a lot he can teach me."
Allison also helped start a food pantry in Sioux Falls after a questionnaire from Feeding South Dakota revealed that 75 percent of the BackPack program's participants share the food they receive with their families.
Feeding South Dakota began thinking of other ways to create more food pantries throughout the state after the success of the Sioux Falls one.
The food pantry at Lincoln Elementary School is set to run until May.
___
Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, http://www.yankton.net/
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
