“We are proud of how our students and staff support the Dublin Food Pantry,” said Superintendent Dr. John Marschhausen. “Giving back is a key component of our commitment to developing the whole child. There is real need in our District, and we are proud of anything we can do to help those in need.”
Dublin Food Pantry (DFP) has grown along with the Dublin School District over the past 45 years. The pantry is located across the street from the earliest school locations – the 1919 Building, Sells Middle School, and Indian Run Elementary School. Dublin Food Pantry was officially formed as the Dublin Area Emergency Assistance Program (DAEAP) in 1976 – just 3 years after what is now Dublin Coffman High school opened. Some who volunteered or donated while students in Dublin are now bringing their children in to support DFP.
Support from Dublin City Schools has never wavered, helping the pantry connect more people with food, essentials, and resources. Every school in the Dublin School District has joined Dublin Food Pantry in the effort to connect people with food, essentials, and resources.
Dublin Food Pantry serves the entire Dublin School District and the City of Dublin, every month. Our monthly average number of individuals served:
769 in 2019
1,052 in 2020
1,763 in 2021
In January of 2022, 2053 Individuals were served.
The term “episodic poverty” is a term the pantry is familiar with. Faced with depleted savings and mounting bills for housing and medical costs, for instance, nutritious food and other grocery items become out of reach, especially with rising food costs.
Teachers and school guidance counselors thoughtfully address the impact of hunger and importance of access to basic personal care items.
“Food instability can exacerbate pre-existing health issues and can lead to new conditions, creating a cyclical pattern of illness stemming from inconsistent access to nutritious food.” healthypeople.gov
,Many families have to ,make hard decisions about which basic necessities to buy,. In considering their needs, important hygiene products are often overlooked. Not having basic personal care items can impact school and work attendance.
Dublin School District’s Dublin Difference is shown in our community partnership:
♥︎ High School volunteers can sign-up for semester long, summertime, event specific, or occasional volunteer shifts. The pantry has regular student volunteers from Dublin Coffman, Dublin Jerome, Dublin Scioto, and Tolles Career & Technical Center. Evan Jajack was a Community Champion in 2021 representing Coffman High School
♥︎ Food, Fund, and Essential Drives in school are often combined with learning about counting, diet and nutrition, planning an event and teamwork to accomplish a goal.
Some annual school events include:
– Caring Heart Food Drive
– Scouting For Food
– Battle of Hard Road FOOD FIGHT
– TRICK-OR-TREAT-SO-KIDS-CAN-EAT Food/Essential Drive by High school students
– November Food/Essential/Toy Drive presented by the non-teaching staff of Dublin School District donating food/essentials to DFP and toys to Washington Township Fire Department
♥︎ School specific opportunities: There are many other ways in which DFP partners with the school district – including summer food programs, delivery of emergency food/care boxes, and in classroom or virtual presentations tailored to the age of the students.
– Special help
When the pandemic impact became dramatically apparent in April of 2020, (pantry customer numbers increased by 150%) and closures where the norm, Dublin City Schools hosted a district-wide food and essential drive for DFP. The schools offered a collection point at Eli Pinney School’s vestibule where people could safely drop-off donations.
Dublin Food Pantry is always working to thank our kind supporters in the schools. We cannot thank the teachers and staff of Dublin City School District enough for their 45 years of support!
Sharing thanks and updates on Social Media:
To better communicate about Dublin Food Pantry, we are always updating our website and social media sites:
Twitter @dublinpantry
Instagram @dublinfoodpantry
Facebook facebook.com/dublinfoodpantry
For information about Food, Fund or Essential Drives, please contact
Operations Director Jim Wilson at jim@dublinfoodpantry.org or for
For ideas about fundraisers, please click here
Thank you for your help #fillingheartsandcarts
– By Patte Widerschein