Hemet Unified School District partners with the Salvation Army

The Hemet Unified School District with support from the Salvation Army is collecting shelf stable healthy foods for students. Donation barrels can be found at each school and the district office. Courtesy photo

HEMET – Hemet Unified School District staff serves nearly 22,000 students. Of those students, 78 percent qualify for free and reduced lunches. The district has many students who only eat while they are at school, and when they leave on Friday afternoons, they worry about what they are going to eat over the weekend.

With this thought driving the focus, the director of purchasing, Andy McGuire, has been working with the Salvation Army to provide food to students while they are not at school.

The Salvation Army has contributed funds and resources to support 100 students until February. McGuire did not stop there with his efforts to help students. With the help of The Salvation Army, HUSD has provided barrels at each school and at the district office to collect healthy food donations for students.

Miriam Ortiz, the parent engagement specialist, is working with each school’s parent liaison to identify students who are in need. With the written consent from families, students will be provided with healthy meals on Friday afternoon to last the weekend.

The initiative began the first week of November, and so far, there have been students at five different schools who have benefited from this outreach. To donate food for students within Hemet Unified, visit the nearest school to make donations. The items being collected, including fruit cups, juice boxes, healthy shelf stable snacks, oatmeal packets, granola bars, instant noodle cups, canned entrees, individual macaroni and cheese cups, fruit snacks, crackers and shelf stable milk, were chosen to provide healthy food for students and are simple enough to make with minimal access to a kitchen.

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