The Needham Broughton High School Capitols are celebrating their 90th anniversary this school year. Located in the heart of Raleigh, Broughton is the oldest of 27 high schools in the Wake County Public School System. Broughton is a magnet school offering Global Studies and Language Immersion/International Baccalaureate Diploma programs. By all indications, the 2,000+ students at Broughton are a microcosm of the Raleigh population as a whole.
Unfortunately, that microcosm includes those in our community facing hunger. All too often, when we think of child hunger, we think of young children. But students in high school are just as often faced with the tragic dilemma of not having enough food to eat. The sad truth is that hunger can have far-reaching effects on a child’s ability to learn, regardless of age.
Luckily, Broughton High School is one of 28 schools in Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s network that has a School Pantry that provides non-perishable food, produce, meats, and toiletry items for students and their families. Betsy Graves, Broughton’s Dance teacher, serves as the Pantry Co-Coordinator. According to Ms. Graves, the pantry serves anywhere between 50 and 60 individuals on any given week. On the Mondays and Thursdays that the pantry is open, students line up to pick up food and toiletry items to take home to their families. According to Hayat Shawwa, the other Pantry Coordinator, not a day goes by with no visitors to the pantry.
Students and their families learn about the Pantry each year at open house, from flyers distributed in the classrooms, and through Student Services when counselors recognize a need while working with a student. Ms. Shawwa also receives calls from family members interested in visiting the Pantry. “I'll have a parent reach out to me and make an appointment that fits their schedule to come in and shop. The parents are always so excited to see that I have more than just canned food and that I have ingredients that can make full meals.”
The most popular items that students choose when they come to the Pantry are Ramen noodles, Chef Boyardee canned pasta products, canned fruit and peanut butter. Snack items like granola bars and individually packed peanut butter packets are also distributed to the classrooms so that hungry students can get a pick-me-up right on the spot.
According to Ms. Graves, the impact of the School Pantry can not be overstated. “When students are hungry, they cannot work at their highest level. When students come to the pantry, they are energized. It takes the pressure off.” Having the snacks available for the teachers to keep in the classroom also relieves some of the financial burden teachers carry by eliminating the need for them to buy the snacks out of their own budgets.
According to Ms. Shawwa, the pantry means a lot to the students. ”This is such a cool idea. It makes me want to come to school more.” And, after all, isn’t that what it’s all about?