- One Northeast Tallahassee neighbor is thinking ahead to Thanksgiving, asking other neighbors to collect non-perishable food items for Leon County students.
- She is starting this at the beginning of the school year to increase the number of donations.
- Watch the video to hear what other needs the school district has right now.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Data from Feeding Florida shows more than 34,000 neighbors in Leon County are food insecure.
With school starting Monday, neighbors are thinking ahead to help feed students in the fall.
Neighbor Kelly Vinson wants to start helping food insecure students and families stock up for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The start of the school year marks the start of her initiative, "Blessing Baskets."
She's asking neighbors to put together bins of non-perishable thanksgiving meal items, like canned cranberry sauce and stuffing mix.
It's something she did last year, and is now expanding from giving to 3 schools to 6.
The former Ruediger Elementary teacher is looking to gather 100 baskets to give to elementary school students to start beating the stigma surrounding food insecurity at a young age.
"As a school teacher, I know there are stereotypes and kids start as they get older to feel uncomfortable that they're living in food insecurity," Vinson said. "By starting at the elementary level and letting those guidance counselors find the need, it helps."
I went to Leon County Schools Volunteer Coordination Kelli Walker to see what the school district is in need of ahead of the school year.
She said they need mentors to step up to help students throughout the school year and donations of school supplies.
Walker said she is confident our community will step up.
"In Tallahassee, we are so fortunate to live in a community where our residents are constantly wanting to get involved in our school system," Walker said.
You can drop off baskets to Keller Williams at 1520 Killearn Center Blvd. on November 18th and 19th.
If you want to make your own basket to donate to a student, clickhere. To sign up to volunteer with Leon County Schools, go to this website.
