Panther Pantry provides food for students in need at Streator’s Northlawn

The Panther Pantry provides plenty of palatable provisions for pupils.

The new program was initiated this year to help provide food to hungry students at Northlawn Junior High School in Streator. Students who would like to take advantage of the program should contact either Principal Bob Ketcham or Assistant Principal Kari Benning to set up a time when they will be able to privately acquire what they need. The pantry is located in a discrete location at Northlawn and may be accessed by appointment only.

The idea for the pantry came from multiple discussions about what could be done to assist Northlawn students. Benning was part of an in-depth poverty training that provided insights into behaviors, academics and strategies to assist students and their families.

“Research has proved students that have worries about if they will have enough to eat are likely to have lower academic scores,” Benning said. “Hunger also plays a role in daily behavior, anxiety and aggression in school-aged children. The hope for the pantry at Northlawn is to give students additional resources that they may need to continue learning and growing at home so that their time spent at school will be successful.”

The pantry is constantly restocked to help those students in need. As new items come in, students from a newly created socio-emotional learning program help organize and catalog the items. Eventually these students will help create shopping lists based on the inventory and the budget for the program. Two goals for the Panther Pantry are to incorporate for fresh food items and to provide some easy-to-follow recipes for the junior high students.

There are two ways the public can help out. The first is a monetary donation so the Northlawn shoppers can purchase items that are in need. The second way is to donate items directly to the Panther Pantry. Money or food items for the pantry can be dropped off in the Northlawn office, 202 E. First St. Recommended items for the pantry include Easy Mac, Ramen noodles, Spaghettios, ravioli, chicken noodle soup, peanut butter, jelly, individual sized boxes of cereal, Goldfish crackers, Cheez Its, tortilla chips, salsa, granola bars and fruit cups.