In January 2025, Maria Gondella and Ilene Austin started a food pantry for Stroudsburg High School.
They spearheaded the food pantry because they saw a need and knew we had many food-insecure students here at Stroudsburg.
“We knew that if people are hungry, it makes it hard to focus on school, so we wanted to help students and their families,” shared reading specialist, Maria Gondella.
They give out food such as rice, soup, mac and cheese, pasta, and other more substantial items. The pantry also offers snacks, like granola bars, chips, yogurt, cereal, and candy. In addition to food, the pantry offers hygiene products such as deodorant, soap, shampoo, and feminine products.
The Stroudsburg Episcopal Church helps with the donations. Fellow teacher, Melissa Haubrich, and her family donate items to the pantry and Haubrich’s father operates their non-profit food pantry and shares surplus supplies with the high school program.
All of the food is packaged, backpacks are stocked for students to get through the weekend, or as needed, then backpacks are distributed on Friday afternoons for those who need them.
Their goal is for families to select from our list of offerings, or have students/families “shop” in the pantry.
They get notifications when food is being delivered. Austin and Gondella take a cart to unload the donor’s car. They separate the refrigerator items from the pantry items. Then, they plan what and when to give out the food.
They minimize food waste by checking expiration dates and ensuring that they distribute the food with the shortest shelf life first. They rotate items in the fridge and pantry as needed. They also provide snacks for classrooms if requested, and give snacks to the nurse’s office too.
“Our goal is to hand this program over to the Common Services students to include in their rotation of Common Threads, Common Delivery, Common Grounds, and then Common Goods,” explains Austin.
If you or someone you know needs supplemental food items are welcome to use food and supplies from our pantry.
If you are interested, simply contact Mrs. Austin in room C103 or Mrs. Gondella in room G201.