Bryant Woods Elementary Opens Community Food Pantry

Students at one Columbia elementary school have a new addition to their campus this fall—a food bank.

Recently, Bryant Woods Elementary partnered with the Community Action Council of Howard County to add a food pantry to its campus in the Wilde Lake area.

The school opened an in-house food pantry on Sept. 23, a project that was the brainchild of Principal Kelley Hough, who told The Baltimore Sun: ”We want to make sure our students and families are taken care of” at Bryant Woods, which is a “community-based school.”

More than 50 percent of students at Bryant Woods receive free and reduced-price meals. It is a Title I school, meaning its students are at-risk or economically disadvantaged, qualifying the school for federal aid. During the last school year, 54.8 percent of students received free and reduced-price meals at Bryant Woods, according to the Howard County Public School System.

The Bryant Woods Elementary School food pantry is now one of 14 food bank locations in Howard County. Nonperishable food will be available at the food pantry two days a week to those in need, according to the school. A staffer will collect items from the pantry while the visitor fills out paperwork required by the Community Action Council, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reports visits to the pantry are confidential.

“Our food pantry was established to support our families and provide easy access to nonperishable food,” according to The Bear Facts, the Bryant Woods Elementary School newsletter. “The vision of the partnership is to ensure that hunger is not an obstacle for students coming to school ready to learn.”

Principal Hough reportedly said she hopes the project can be a model for others.

The pantry will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays at Bryant Woods Elementary at 5450 Blue Heron Lane, according to the school. Each visitor must present identification (e.g., driver’s license) to be eligible.

Patch File Photo.