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Mark Quandt, executive director of the Regional Food Bank of Northeast New York, center, shakes hands with Ean Rose, director of operations at Hannaford Supermarkets, right, during an announcement that Hannaford donated nearly $300,000 to establish food pantries in dozens of schools in New York on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, at Troy High School in Troy N.Y. Troy is the first of 33 to open food pantries with help of grant money from Hannaford Supermarkets. (Will Waldron/Times Union) lessMark Quandt, executive director of the Regional Food Bank of Northeast New York, center, shakes hands with Ean Rose, director of operations at Hannaford Supermarkets, right, during an announcement that ... morePhoto: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union
TROY — At Troy High School, educators have acquired one more tool in the fight against student hunger.
In New York state, high-needs urban schools like those in the city of Troy already provide students with universal free meals during the week, but tackling weekend food insecurity poses an ongoing quandary for administrators and social service agencies.
Backpack programs run by Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York allow students to take home bookbags loaded up with groceries each Friday, but the initiative tends to be most popular among low-income students in younger grades. By middle and high school, kids become self-conscious and the program is largely underutilized.
Now Hannaford Supermarkets has announced a $296,000 grant to the Regional Foodbank enabling the nonprofit to establish pantries in 33 schools throughout the region, which will enable teens and tweens to pick out their foods in a more discreet manner.
"With all the assistance that is available, the weekend is always a gap," Regional Food Bank Executive Director Mark Quandt said. "What we found is when we tried to do the backpack program in junior high and senior high, kids don't want their friends knowing they are taking food home ... then the lightbulb went off: How about if we did it a different way?"
Research shows that school children with full stomachs are less distracted, have fewer absences and behavioral issues, and score higher on tests. After the backpack program was launched in Schenectady City schools, attendance among students who received backpacks increased 4 percent, disciplinary referrals fell 9 percent, and one-third scored higher on the state English exams.
In addition to supporting the school’s backpack program, which discreetly provides students in need with bags food for times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and schools breaks, the Troy High School pantry will be accessible to students in need of a snack or other food items during the school day.
Troy District Superintendent John Carmello said that every student at Troy High School receives breakfast and lunch, but many students still do not get proper nutrition once they leave the building.
"This program will help to ensure that even more students get the food they need, which will help them to be the best they can be," Carmello said.
The donation is part of the supermarket chain's $1 million commitment to its “Fuel Kids at School” program, which is designed to directly address food insecurity and improve access to fresh and healthy food in schools in New York and New England.
Other schools in the region that are benefiting from the program include Albany High School, Clayton A. Bouton High School in Voorheesville, Guilderland High School, Ballston Spa High School, and Saratoga Springs High School.
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