Second Harvest School Pantry Program

The aim of our Second Harvest School Pantry Program is to ensure every child has the food
they need to grow and thrive by creating food security for the entire family.

Together, in partnership with our local school districts, we are able to increase the amount of food families have on-hand by hosting monthly pantries with a nutritious assortment of shelf-stable food, produce, bread, refrigerated, and frozen foods at various sites throughout our service area. Administration staff, district social workers, teachers, students, and parents provide guidance and volunteers for each distribution- welcoming families onto school grounds. The team at Second Harvest handles all of the behind the scenes work – carefully choosing what food is at each distribution, coordinating volunteers to pack food boxes, pulling orders from our warehouse shelves, loading and unloading trucks, and planning distribution logistics. 

Each school site is different and unique-- from rural to urban, from drive-thru distributions to on-site choice pantries, from serving from an average of 50 families to 450 families per month. In 2021, over 2,800,000 LBS of nutritious food reached families through the School Pantry program. 

The support of our local funders make the School Pantry Program possible, including:

The School Pantry program for school year 2022-2023 is possible through the support of local and national funders including: The Stocker Foundation, Community Foundation of Lorain County, The Ross Foundation, The Giant Eagle Foundation, Tyson, Chick-Fil-A, Campbell’s Soup and many individual donors.

School Pantry Program Partners

  • Clearview Local SchoolsEducational Service Center of Lorain County
  • Educational Service Center of Lorain County
    • Avon Lake City Schools
    • Amherst Exempted Village Schools
    • Columbia Local Schools
    • Firelands Local Schools
    • North Ridgeville City Schools
    • Wellington Exempted Village Schools
  • Elyria City School
  • Galion City Schools
  • Lorain City Schools
  • Midview Local Schools
  • Sheffield / Sheffield Lake City Schools

Together, we are growing hope – hope for the future – hope for a community in which the future of our children belongs to all of us.

Upcoming School Pantries

April 17, 2024

Brookside High School Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry

LOCATION:
Brookside High School
1662 Harris Rd.
Sheffield, OH 44054
TIME:
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

April 18, 2024

Lorain High School Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry

LOCATION:
Lorain High School
2600 Ashland Ave.
Lorain, OH 44053
TIME:
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

April 29, 2024

Ely Stadium Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry

LOCATION:
Ely Stadium
1915 Middle Ave.
Elyria, OH 44035
TIME:
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

April 30, 2024

Galion Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry

LOCATION:
Galion School Campus
470 Portland Way N
Galion, OH 44833
TIME:
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm