Pictured with the newest addition to The Student Pantry family are Patricia Chinn, principal of Hickory Woods Elementary, with Mina Aasgaard, Olivia Pratt, Sydney Urbaniak, Nina Fertel, Chloe Endreszl and Ben Rodi. All are youth advisory board members and sophomores at Walled Lake Central High School. (Photo submitted.)
Four schools in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District provide what their students and families need — when they need it — without a ton of paperwork.
Wixom Care Closet
The first school to have such a program, Wixom Elementary, is home to Wixom Care Closet. Originally, the pantry — which began with the basics of food, hygiene products and clothing — began about six years ago with co-founder Diana Cantalamisa’s teaching partner Raisa Kummings, and the support of now-retired Principal Alec Bender. Both women are ESL teachers.
“We carry it for our families in need,” said Cantalamisa. “There’s no shame in needing a little help.”
Wixom is a Title I school; about 30 percent of its students receive free/reduced lunch.
The pantry is located behind Cantalamisa and Kummings’ office in a storage room. In addition to personal hygiene products and food, there are school supplies, clothing items, books, as well as dictionaries and thesauruses, “birthdays in a box” that International Baccalaureate students created, and even Halloween costumes.
The most recent addition, ready to go home with kids in the summer, are activity boxes that were financed by the donation of a $500 gift card from Meijer to use in in the store; Exxon Mobil’s funds donated for math also helped with the kits, and Russel bought the kids cookbooks.
Sources other than The Student Pantry include teacher/staff/parent donations, donations from local businesses and the community. “It’s definitely a group effort for sure,” Cantalamisa said. “It’s been beautiful, very helpful in our school.” Origins and inspiration
Pat Cavanaugh, principal of Walnut Creek Middle School, said The Student Pantry originated there when founder Sydney Urbaniak was in eighth grade, during the 2016-17 school year.
“She wanted to meet with me based on a feeling, a concern that there may be some students who needed extra food and extra clothing, as well as school supplies. I thought to myself, ‘What a great idea.’”
The Student Pantry has changed lives at his school, Cavanaugh said. “It provides that immediate opportunity for the student to get the nourishment that he or she needs. It’s created an opportunity for students to have their needs met, which is critical prior to learning taking place. It’s 100 percent student-driven.”
Urbaniak said the idea grew out of observations she made starting in sixth grade. “I noticed that there was one kid in particular who always wore the same sweatshirt.” She raised funds and gave it to the counseling office to purchase items the student needed for school. It led her to want to establish something to help students at school with clothing and school supplies, as well as food.
Providing a helping hand
Collaborating with Hospitality House, in addition to food bought with funds students raise from public and private donors, The Student Pantry now supplies food to four schools – Walnut Creek, Wixom Elementary, Glengary Elementary and, most recently, Hickory Woods Elementary.
“We provide snacks during the day, weekend food packages, and food during the summer to students in need,” Urbaniak said. “They can take as much or as little as they need.”
The Student Pantry became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in April 2018.
Cavanaugh is one of three WLCSD principals on the pantry’s board of directors. The other two are Kristin Froning, Oakley Park Elementary principal, and Chuck Morgan, principal of Walled Lake Central High School.
A six-member youth advisory board runs its day-today operations. Currently, all of them are sophomores at Walled Lake Central High School: Urbaniak, Chloe Endreszl, Ben Rodi, Nina Fertel, Olivia Pratt and Mina Aasgaard.
“The goal is for the students to get a well-rounded experience,” Urbaniak’s mother, Julie, said. “This is an organization that was begun and run by kids.”
At each school, there is a site coordinator to help monitor inventory. Students are assisted by a counselor or a teacher, and are brought in privately. “We are completely anonymous,” Julie said. Her daughter was adamant on that point, she added.
Over the course of time, Urbaniak learned that food insecurity in the Walled Lake area affects one in four kids. “Until all of this started, I don’t think I really understood that in this area it was such a high rate.”
Reflections on how it helps
The response from those involved has been resoundingly positive.
Donovan Neal, executive director of Hospitality House in Commerce, said, “As far as the student pantry is concerned, we love them. Sydney came to us wanting some assistance and help, and we were more than happy to help get that program off the ground, and more than happy to help supply the food they need for the students within the school building. She’s an awesome young lady and she’s doing a wonderful job over there. It’s a pleasure to be able to support something like that.”
Laura Locke, a first grade teacher at Glengary Elementary, said, “The founders of The Student Pantry, Julie and Sydney Urbaniak, came to us in the spring of 2018 asking if there was a need for the pantry at Glengary.”
Principal RosaLeigh Johnson added, “The Student Pantry has been such a blessing to the Glengary community. Students can access snacks, backpacks, supplies and clothes. Food is also sent home to families for the weekend, as needed. We recently had some young girls who were able to get a new dress for the Daddy/ Daughter dance. We also have been able to provide food to families who have fallen into hard times.”
“The Student Pantry is also providing food to families in need over the summer months. We are so grateful for the leadership of Sydney Urbaniak and her team at The Student Pantry,” Locke added.
Patricia Chinn, principal of Hickory Woods Elementary, the most recent school to host the pantry (starting in April of this year), said one of the things about most programs is that they have rules and might “feel exposed” by the amount of information they need to provide. That’s not the case with The Student Pantry.
“This is right here,” Chinn said. “It’s on the property for them. They don’t have to go through a long process of applying. They can simply get the amount of support they need for whatever time they need.”
Just about two weeks after it was put in place, she said, “So far, we have helped three students in just this week through our pantry, so it has been a fantastic addition to our community and we are grateful to The Student Pantry group for their help in making this a reality for our community!”
