The Problem
My students maintain a food pantry for our school. Our food pantry does so much more than feed hungry kids. It also provides learning opportunities for our students. All the young adults in our school have autism and/or intellectual disabilities. They are able to practice vocational skills such as stocking shelves and bagging groceries. They learn daily living skills such as checking expiration dates and how to make a complete, well balanced meal. They also learn about being an active member of the community and demonstrating compassion for others when we deliver food bags to classrooms each week. One thing my students have noticed is that everything that is donated to the pantry is boxed or canned. We would like to be able to include fresh produce in the food bags, and we would like to grow that produce ourselves.
