![\"\"](\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/04\/Polk-County-1-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBy Arianne Corbett<\/p>\n
Polk County Public Schools and the Public Education Partnership of Winter Haven, Inc. are working together to bring mobile food pantries stocked with free essentials to elementary schools throughout the Winter Haven area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coronavirus crisis has ripped a giant hole in the American economy. Today, millions of parents are finding it hard to make ends meet, many for the first time,\u201d said Steven Warner, PCPS community liaison director, who helped organize the mobile food pantry program. \u201cDuring this crisis, donated food and meals can be a valuable source of nutrition and comfort for kids, while alleviating stress for parents who have found themselves juggling new responsibilities or struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
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The mobile food pantry project is made possible through grant support from No Kid Hungry. Local organizations Growing Positivity, Freedom Tour\/Church, and Mid-West Food Banks are also involved in bringing the mobile food pantries to Winter Haven elementary schools.<\/p>\n
During the first mobile food pantry stop on Feb. 19 at Snively Elementary, families received 420 meals. Three hundred meals were distributed on Feb. 25 at Inwood Elementary, and another 515 were delivered at Lake Shipp Elementary on March 5. In April, Garner Elementary received more than 20,000 pounds of food!<\/p>\n
“Garner Elementary School Community is very grateful for the kindness shown during the food box distribution. \u00a0We serve a very diverse population and most of our\u00a0families are below the poverty level,\u201d\u00a0said Principal\u00a0Qvonda Blackman.\u00a0 “Our staff was definitely overjoyed and appreciative that they were included. Almost six-hundred boxes distributed was truly a labor of love. Thanks again for your generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mobile food pantry will visit a Winter Haven elementary school each week through the remainder of the school year. Snively, Inwood, Lake Shipp, Garner and Wahneta elementary schools will all receive food donations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Arianne Corbett Polk County Public Schools and the Public Education Partnership of Winter Haven, Inc. are working together to bring mobile food pantries stocked with free essentials to elementary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n