APS Partners with Food Bank | Trial Period for Drive-Thru Pop-Up Pantries

By Marilyn Miller Paulk, APS Storyteller

Shannon Pickett had car trouble on Saturday morning’s chilly 30 degree weather and asked her neighbor for a ride to East CLC for the Foodbank Pop-Up Pantry distribution. They drove by the school parking lot seeing no line, but several cars were parked, so they circled back and parked too.

The volunteers quickly filled several bags and took them to the car. Pickett said her son’s school counselor at Barber CLC told her about the Pop-Up Pantry. Her neighbor, Anthony Wallace, was also able to register on the spot and receive food.

Both said they appreciate the program, especially since Easter is right around the corner and students are on Spring break.

Akron Public School families have a new service called Foodbank Pop-Up Pantries through the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank. The Foodbank service is offered to designated locations in the Buchtel, East and North clusters.

The three clusters were chosen because those areas were hit the hardest following cuts to the SNAP program. 

 Families can drive up to the mobile van or truck and receive groceries. They can register for the service online or sign up through the school’s family liaison. 

The program outreach coordinator, Todd Schlereth – or the self-proclaimed “pop-up guy” – manages pre- and on-site registrations. 

“We offer a nutritious mix of frozen food, vegetables, protein, meat and fruit,” he said. “What we’re able to give depends on what’s available. We give out about 20-30 pounds of groceries and always bring a little extra. We don’t turn anyone away.”

Schlereth said the food bank serves eight Northeast Ohio counties. And more than 600 food programs operate within the Foodbank’s network.

On this day, there were frozen chicken patties, oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, canned foods, rice, noodles and pasta sauce. Altogether, nine families visited the East location. 

The menu at North pop-up was somewhat similar. Fifteen families registered, and most showed along with a few on-site registrants.

Each APS school also has a resource center pantry that provides some food items. But  the foods are limited to shelf-life items such as peanut butter, canned goods, beans and rice. Fresh or frozen foods aren’t kept in the school pantries.

“Schools don’t have the space to store food, " said Dr. Carla Chapman, Chief of Community Relations & Strategic Engagement. “ We have pantry grants provided by David and Cheryl Venarge through the Akron Community Foundation to stock the pantries.”

Chapman said because of the lack of space in the school food pantries the liaisons who stock them tend to order for one or two families at a time, on an as needed basis  versus stocking up in large quantities.

“ I don’t think we should be storing food in schools, nor does our superintendent or child nutritionist. We should ensure that what comes in goes out to our families. If we're holding on to things, kind of storing up stuff, then that means it's not getting into the hands of the people who need it.”

Cheryl Venarge heard that concern, and decided to take action. The idea was born and she convened the meeting. 

Chapman said, “The Venarge Family is all about food access. When I talked with Cheryl we talked about how to get food in the hands of families and also avoid this whole storage and ordering thing we were trying to do and she said, "Why can't we just deliver the food. That’s how it started and a group of us got together and came up with a plan. I admire her passion.”

Cheryl Venarge said the first obstacle when jumpstarting the program was the weather.

“This is still in experimental stages, we got the idea last fall but haven’t been able to start it until February because the weather has been horrendous,” Venarge said. “The whole idea was just to try it and see how it works and if it looks positive we may take it into the summer months. We’ll keep evaluating it every month and see where it’s going.”

It’s only been two months into the project and the team is watching the numbers very closely. So far the turnout has been low.

The recap report for the month of February showed that 18 people registered at the Ed Davis Community Center for the Buchtel cluster, there were 12 visits from families who did not register and 13 no shows. 

At North, 14 people registered, there were 23 visits, 19 of those didn’t register and there were 10 no shows. And at East there were 14 families who registered, 15 visits, 8 did not register ahead of time and 7 no shows.

Other than the terrible weather for the lack of traffic the team is looking at possible transportation issues.  Or the time of day could conflict with work and perhaps families aren’t well informed. Still, others may be frequenting different food resource centers.

“We’re hoping it will pick up,” Venarge said.  “We are meeting next month to check the numbers. We’re committed to do this for a few months to see how it works. I’m just trying to figure out a way to get more food out to the people who need it. It’s still very early and hopefully the numbers will pick up. All we can do is wait and see.”

Venarge said the program won’t shut down based only on numbers. They will explore alternatives to communicate better with potential registrants to determine the next step. 

There has not been a lack of volunteers.

Christen Stockdale’s husband Tom wasn't available to help out because he had to take their eighth grade son, Logan, to a karate tournament in Lima.  She found a replacement.

 “I asked my dad, Gary Griffith, and he didn’t hesitate. We both graduated from East and still live in Goodyear Heights.”

Another volunteer, Reva Link,  East’s family liaison, said she wonders if parents just aren't reading the newsletters, because the need is there. She said with the help of some PTA members they recently started calling people encouraging them to share information about the pop-up pantries with family and friends.

At North, volunteer Kris Stoehr, who works at the North Resource Center, represents First Serve, which partners with United Way and APS.  She brought her entire family to volunteer: husband Paul and two sons, Jacob and Jeremiah.

“It’s her birthday and this is how she wanted to celebrate it,” Paul shared. “I said no problem, so here we are.”

Food Pantry Schedule:

Buchtel cluster at the Ed Davis Center, 730 Perkins Park Drive:  8-10am, First Tuesday of each month through June 2

North cluster at North High School, 985 Gorge Blvd.  3-5 pm, Last Tuesday of each month through May 26.

East cluster at East CLC, 80 Brittain Road, 9-11 am, Fourth Saturday of the month through May 30.