Districtwide Food Drive Returns

After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, the 12th Annual Districtwide Food Drive is scheduled from March 21-25. Students, families, staff and community members with the ability and means are invited to donate non-perishable food items or cash to their schools throughout the week.

Approximately 40 percent of U.S. households with children had difficulty paying for usual household expenses, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. These findings provide new details on the serious financial hardships experienced by families during the pandemic, including the disparate impacts across racial and ethnic groups.

Higher percentages of families continue to report they are food insecure as the pandemic reaches its two-year mark. Food insecurity at any age carries the risk of poor physical and mental health outcomes. But food insecurity in households with children is particularly concerning because poor outcomes may influence health and well-being at sensitive points in human development, including both early childhood and adolescence.  

All food and cash donations are presented to VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People), a Bloomington basic needs and social services organization with programs promoting access to healthy foods, stable housing and other supportive services.