Fifth grader Aubrey Reichert checks out the items in the Mill Creek Elementary Food Pantry and Resource Center during its grand opening at the Millcreek school on Thursday. “As one of the largest and most diverse school districts in the state, food insecurity is an issue all of our schools face to some degree,” Brent Severe, CEO of the Granite Education Foundation, said in a statement, noting that just over 3 out of 5 students in the Granite School District are food insecure, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. “We want every child to come to school happy, healthy and ready to learn, rather than wondering where their next meal is coming from.” The in-school pantry, the district’s 22nd, provides a range of dinner kits, snack kits and hygiene kits that students can pick up and take home. The Granite Education Foundation also provides five portable or “rolling pantries” for schools that do not require a full in-school pantry.
