EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A food pantry at W.H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn aims to tackle food insecurity for students and their families.
Staff officially launched the new pantry Thursday, providing nourishment for students who stopped by to shop for basic necessities.
“When we need food at home this pantry helps me out,” said student Devis Castellanos. “When I ask the principal can I have food … she gives me food.”
Castellanos is a junior at the school who frequents the pantry looking for milk, canned goods, toiletries, as well as clothing that line the shelves.
Principal John Rullan said the pantry, which first started as a pilot program, serves about 200 students monthly and has become a lifeline for families in the East New York neighborhood, which has long been considered a food desert.
“I tell all the kids that when they’re here I’m their father, so to be able to develop a relationship and be able to walk with the kids in the hallways, and get to know them, but be able to feed them — I think it is to go the extra mile, so for me, I know personally that I’m really helping them,” Rullan said.
According to a 2023 report by Feeding America, Kings County had the fifth largest food insecure population in the country with more than 377,100 people experiencing food scarcity.
Associates from Stop & Shop are hoping to help alleviate the problem. They presented the school with a $13,500 check to keep the pantry stocked.
“Often, the problem with food insecurity isn’t the price of food but it’s the ability to get to the food to purchase it,” said Daniel Wolk of Stop & Shop. “Instead of having to take a bus to go to the grocery store and pay for that bus, they now can come to the school, get the food they need, and be able to go through class and have the best chance at reaching their full potential.”
That generous donation is making a difference for parents like Aurora Maldonado.
“It stretches out more of the money that I’m spending to buy groceries because, $100 a few years ago could go a long way — for a whole week,” Maldonado said. “A hundred dollars goes in one day and it’s just a few items. So, coming to the pantry, yeah it does come a long way.”
School staff are hoping to one day expand the pantry, offering more healthy food options and more clothing as they as they continue their mission to help students in need.
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