Imagine an easily accessible store filled with fresh produce, pantry staples, home necessities and warm winter clothes where everything is free for the taking.
That’s what the Winooski School District plans to offer when it cuts the ribbon on its “free store” in August 2022. The store will be part of a renovated, expanded school complex, where construction began last October. Overall, the project will renovate 125,000 square feet of its existing school complex — which includes elementary, middle and high schools — and add 75,000 square feet.
Winooski now has about 850 students but is growing quickly, and expects enrollment to top 1,000 in the next three to five years. The project will bring the schools into line with modern standards, replace all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, add a new gym and a performing arts center, realign athletic facilities, and include a new community services center.
The $57.8 million project is being funded by a loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Developmentprogram, which trimmed loan costs by about $11 million.
The new spaces will be great, but “keeping our kids fed, clothed, and feeling cared for is the first step in making sure they are able to access the opportunities that will help them feel successful,” said Emily Ecker, communications and development director for the Winooski School District.
Plans for the necessities store and grab-and-go cafe got an infusion of $150,000 from an anonymous donor funneled through the Vermont Community Foundation. The money went to the Heart of Winooski Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the Winooski School District, and it will go largely toward construction of the store.
To fill the store and keep it running, a variety of other nonprofits plan to step up to the plate. The Vermont Foodbank, through its new Veggie VanGo+, will keep the shelves stocked with fresh produce and nonperishable food. The district plans to work with organizations to secure donations of household essentials, personal hygiene products and winter gear, which will be vetted for quality by the district’s wellness coordinator.
Ecker also hopes the school can raise money for a washer and dryer so donated clothing can be cleaned on
site.
Winooski school officials detected an increased need for food and essential items during the school year that ended in June, and used more than $14,000 from the district’s emergency fund to help feed and clothe Winooski families in need.
The Winooski School District has the highest concentration of low-wealth students in Vermont, according to 2019 information from the Vermont Agency of Education. Almost 98% of the district’s 850 students are eligible for free lunch, which means their families are at or below 185% of the federal poverty rate, or $49,025 per year for a family of four.
Around the state, 32,397 students, about 38%, qualify for free lunch.
Rachel Worthington, manager of food access programs at the Vermont Foodbank, said if the Winooski project is a success, the effort could be expanded to other school districts around the state, provided sustainable financing can be arranged.
Three Vermont Foodbank pilot projects similar to the Winooski’s opened in 2019 at schools in Rutland and St. Johnsbury and at Spaulding High School in Barre, but closed down when the pandemic hit. They reopened in February.
Although the Vermont Foodbank provides a variety of programs to increase access to fresh food, most of them are monthly or bimonthly events based at schools or hospitals. It can be difficult for people to get there consistently — work hours, sickness, child care issues and other barriers get into the way.
The partnerships with schools in Winooski, Barre, Rutland and St. Johnsbury are unique, in that they focus on empowering kids to participate, have permanent locations, and offer pantry staples rather than just fresh food. The program is tailored to be equitable and welcoming, and to reduce stigma.
Although the Winooski store will be inside the school building, residents can shop on designated days and Veggie VanGo’s twice-monthly Winooski food bank events will continue.
“We’re trying to create a more permanent and dignified place for students to access food,” Worthington said. For instance, it’s called a store, rather than a food pantry; it should feel like grocery shopping; and it will be open to everyone, so that students who need food assistance won’t feel spotlighted.
The store will stock food items requested by residents, including families who recently immigrated to Vermont through the Refugee Resettlement Program; their favorite foods can be challenging to find at food banks.
“Feeling included and not feeling like you’re being targeted because you need food assistance helps reduce embarrassment around needing to receive food,” Worthington said. “The whole premise of this project is to create a dignified and welcoming environment to access food.”
If you want to keep tabs on Vermont's education news, sign up here to get a weekly email with all of VTDigger's reporting on higher education, early childhood programs and K-12 education policy.
Winooski schools will open ‘free store’ to improve access to food, clothes, supplies - vtdigger.org
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment