The food pantry run by South Lakes High School’s PTSA has collected 2 million pounds of food and toiletries to help local students and their families.
The parents, staff and other volunteers who operate the pantry achieved the milestone during their most recent distribution event held last Thursday (July 18) at the Reston school (11400 South Lakes Drive).
“The Pantry exemplifies the way our community comes together to support one another in a meaningful way,” incoming South Lakes principal Carlos Seward said in a press release for the event.
The PTSA started the food pantry in April 2017 with a focus on addressing the food insecurity that many South Lakes students experience by providing food and toiletries to supplement school meals. As of the 2022-2023 school year, about 31%, or 787, of the school’s 2,954 students received free or reduced-price lunches.
Initially, the pantry drew 20 to 25 students per week. Now, as many as 300 students and 175 families “shop” there every week during the school year, according to PTSA Food Pantry liaison and co-founder Abbe Pascal.
In addition to helping more students, the pantry has expanded its scope over the years, providing grocery store gift cards and curbside distributions to families in the South Lakes pyramid. In December 2022, it launched a “Reading with Roz” program that brings books to the pantry from local bookstore Scrawl Books.
“The books have been a huge hit and students have selected more than 1,100 new books!” pantry organizers said.
The pantry says its success so far has been made possible by support from South Lakes High School’s administration, including former principal Kim Retzer, and a range of community partners:
Reston Community Center, Rustic Love, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Restoration Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Cornerstones, Century 21 Redwood Realty Reston, Dev Technology Group, Long & Foster Real Estate Reston, Aspen Jewelry Designs, Creative Strategies, The RoSigle Foundation, NuAxis Innovations, Lake Anne Coffee House and Wine Bar, Lake Anne Brew House, New Trail Cycling & Strength, The Bike Lane, Unbroken Reston, OmBaked, Chesapeake Chocolates, Ben & Jerry’s Reston
As a partner of Capital Area Food Bank and Feeding America, the group also gets weekly donations from Reston’s Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Safeway and Whole Foods, which have collectively donated over 85,000 pounds of food this year.
The nonprofits A Simple Gesture and Food for Neighbors make bi-monthly donations that add up to another 75,000 pounds annually.
South Lakes has also benefitted from annual Stuff the Bus food drives, and in June, it was one of five recipients of the 100,000 pounds of food collected through a Summer Food Rally organized by the Reston-based seafood company StarKist and the nonprofits Feed the Children and Cornerstones.
“It s incredible to be able to see how appreciative our neighbors are week in and week out,” South Lakes High School PTSA Food Pantry volunteer Monica Russ said. “It’s a true community effort.”
The pantry is now preparing for its biggest annual fundraiser, the Do It Your Way 0.5k, which will be held on Sept. 29. Last year’s race drew over 500 participants, and even more people are expected this year, pantry team lead Roberta Gosling says.
