When the federal government shut down, it affected millions of families nationwide. At one Tulsa elementary school, a teacher noticed students going without lunch and took action to help.
Skelly Elementary School started a food pantry at the end of October after teacher Candice Bobnock observed that families at the school struggled to provide meals for their children. The initiative became even more crucial when SNAP benefits paused during the government shutdown.
“The other day, we had a mom come in, and she did her shopping, and when she was leaving, she was telling her little kindergartner, ‘Now you get to have milk with your cereal.’ It was just milk, just like shelf-stable milk, but he just started skipping, and he was so happy and joyful, just from the idea of having milk. So that was something I wanted to spread and have more students being able to have those simple things that other people take for advantage,” Bobnock said…