Taft food pantry opens Friday

YOUNGSTOWN

The Taft Food Market, Taft Elementary School’s food pantry, opens for the first time at 2 p.m. Friday.

The pantry will be open for donations and shopping from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday afternoons, allowing children to select foods to take home. It’s funded by the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley as part of its Success After 6 initiative. The food is being purchased from Second Harvest Food Bank.

Students will be able to choose items including green beans, cereal, macaroni and cheese, soup and vegetable stew.

Permission slips are being sent home and Taft families in need can inform a student’s teacher of the need either on the permission slip or in a note.

Taft is the latest city school to open a food pantry to help students and families who need it. Volney Rogers, Williamson and Harding Elementary schools and East High School are among the others.

Food pantries in schools align with Goal II, Supporting the Whole Child, of CEO Krish Mohip's strategic plan to improve the Youngstown City School District.