Along with the promise of higher-paying jobs, Kroger’s entry into Central Florida will also help hungry students and families at Windy Hill Middle School in Clermont.
At the groundbreaking for its customer fulfillment center in Groveland today, Kroger representatives presented a $10,000 check to FAITH (Feed and Instruct the Hungry) Neighborhood Center to establish a school market at Windy Hill Middle. The campus-based pantry will provide free food to students and their families.
To eliminate any stigma for students who pick up food from the market, distribution will not be based on financial need. Instead, food will be available to any student who wants it.
The school has partnered with the center, a community food pantry in Groveland that purchases food items through the Second Harvest food bank and receives other items from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for distribution to seniors, veterans, unemployed residents, lower-wage earners, homeless families and others with a need.
Now, with support from Kroger, the center will also make food available to Windy Hill.
“It’s an amazing thing for a school to take on extra work, but they decided they were going to do something – they were going to serve,” said Patricia Kry, executive director of the center. “And they are doing it very well.”
The school received praise from Tim McGurk, a regional director of corporate affairs for Kroger, a supermarket chain that is partnering with Ocado, a British online grocery company, to create a high-tech fulfillment center where robots will help fill orders for delivery to customers. McGurk visited FAITH Neighborhood Center earlier in the week with Windy Hill staff and discussed plans for the school market.
Historically, he said, Kroger has spread its philanthropic efforts across many causes. Now, the company has narrowed its focus to hunger. “We are doing it all around an effort called ‘Zero Hunger, Zero Waste,’ ” he said. “It’s our company’s commitment. The goal is to eliminate hunger and to make sure all of our facilities are at zero waste by 2025. But we can’t do it alone. It takes all kinds of important partnerships like this one. One of our first actions in Florida is connecting with the community and doing something in support of our purpose, which is to feed the human spirit.”
That’s where the school market comes in. It is the brainchild of Michael Tarquine, who leads chorus and musical theater instruction at Windy Hill. For him, the most important thing is that children who need food can get it with no questions asked. The market will have regular hours of operation so any student can go in and get something – even if it’s just a snack before class.
But there’s an academic benefit as well – and some life lessons.
Students in the school’s culinary program can earn certifications working in the market. But that’s not the only benefit for those students and others who volunteer.
“They will be facilitating, stocking, managing and getting a better sense of how the things they are learning in school aren’t just for academics, but can be applied to make the whole world a better place,” Tarquine said.
The school did a beta test around the end of last school year as students prepared to take standardized tests. “We did a change drive, purchased a few snacks and did a small market,” Principal William Roberts said. “The line grew every day. Every single day. So, we know this will do well.”
The boost from Kroger will help tremendously, he said.
“It is an unbelievable blessing,” Roberts added. “We can’t say thank you enough. We are the largest middle school in the district and we serve a population that comes to us with disadvantages. We are trying to build equity and level that playing field for them. The impact this will have on our community, I just cannot put into words.”
Kry agreed. “This is going to be an incredible relationship,” she said.
