Peters Elementary School Launches Monthly Mobile Food Pantry for Community

Tables with wooden baskets filled with fruits and vegetables for the local community free of cost.

Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) has teamed up with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County to bring a monthly Mobile School Pantry to Peters K-3 and Peters 4-6 elementary schools.    The partnership helps fight hunger in the community and allows families and community members to pick up free fruits and vegetables. 

During the first event, 182 families benefited, including 456 children, 389 adults, and an additional 93 area seniors, who received free produce including watermelon, apples, plums, potatoes, onions, and carrots.

"We are pleased to have a Mobile Food Pantry in our district and we hope to work with the Second Harvest Food Bank to expand this partnership,” said Walter Muneton, Board of Education trustee.  “We want to do anything we can to ensure that our student’s basic needs are met – and that includes ensuring students and their families have access to healthy food.” 

Second Harvest Food Bank's mission is to end hunger in Orange County and it offers free Mobile School Pantries at 30 schools across the county through an application process.  The non-profit organization provides training in operation and food safety protocols at the farmer’s market style events.  Peters Elementary School parents volunteer to help run the pantry. 

The Mobile School Panty is offered one Friday each month in front of the Peters K-3 MPR on Newhope Street from 1:30 p.m .to 2:30 p.m. from September 2017 to June 2018. The first successful Mobile Food Pantry event was held on September 8 and the schedule for the remainder of the school year is as follows: October 6, 2017; November 3, 2017; December 8, 2017; January 12,2018; February 9, 2018; March 2, 2018; April 13, 2018, May 4, 2018; and June 8,2018