Winslow Township School District board members and community volunteers discussed plans to place food pantries at school buildings and the operational steps needed to keep them secure, sanitary and accessible to students and families.

Supporters said the goal is to make food discreetly available to students to take home; volunteer organizers described visiting other districts and seeing pantries “in action,” and urged the board to finalize placement and safety protocols before rolling out the program.

Board members and volunteers framed the discussion as a response to rising demand for food assistance. A volunteer identified in the meeting as Marcy Tomsello said visiting other schools convinced organizers to bring a pantry to Winslow: “when we saw the pictures in action, that’s when we knew that we had to bring [it] to our community.”

Speakers emphasized concerns about secure storage and sanitation inside school buildings. One board speaker said food stored in insecure areas could “create another problem” during cold months and that building principals would work with staff and volunteers to identify appropriate locations and procedures.

Volunteers said they would handle packaging and distribution, and board members said administrators and building principals would develop recommendations on placement, safety, and sanitation before approving any permanent installations. No formal vote was taken; the item remained a discussion and planning step.

The board also noted that free-and-reduced-price lunch counts have increased year to year, a point volunteers and board members used to underscore community need. The exact size of the increase and districtwide counts were not specified during the remarks.

Board members said they would work with building principals to return with a recommendation on recommended pantry locations, volunteer protocols, and sanitation measures for a future meeting.