Allen County Schools celebrates food pantry grand opening

ALLEN COUNTY, Ky. – Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland, Allen County Schools and Anthem Medicaid have teamed up to open a standalone food pantry on the campus of Allen County High School.

The purpose of the pantry is to fill a need seen in the county school system with food insecurity.

Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland executive director Jamie Sizemore said during her speech that food insecurity has risen by as much as 40% since 2021, making the need for such services even more important than they already were.

“We are so excited about this partnership. There are six school districts that we chose to do pilots. Allen County is one of them. We knew that there was not a food and food assistance coming into this community in order to meet the needs that are of those who are facing hunger. And that’s really important to us,” Sizemore said.

With the food pantry, ACS is now able to assist not just students but also their families to stabilize their diets when money is tight. This service is available to all ACS students and their families.

“Anytime we can look for partnerships around a common goal, that helps us to be able to address the real needs within our communities, we all win as a result of that,” ACS superintendent Travis Hamby said.