The Bull Dog Food Pantry at Columbus North High School will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, according to organizers.
But vehicles will not be allowed to pull into the grocery loading area off Maple Street until 9:45 a.m. to allow volunteers time to prepare and be in place.
The free outreach, which already was scheduled before the current COVID-19 pandemic triggered job losses and other hardships, will serve Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students and their families, said Tonya Cruser, the pantry coordinator and also a North art teacher.
Normally, the pantry opens at 3 p.m., but Cruser mentioned that staff and others already are in the school building earlier in the day for now. She said that she and her volunteers are pre-bagging enough food for about 200 families, since Columbus Easts pantry served a record 192 families last Friday.
“I would suspect our response is going to similar (to East’s), though the idea of it being held in the middle of the day may affect some people still working until 5 p.m.,” Cruser said. “That may be an issue.”
East’s previous record was 102 families served at one distribution in November.
Families will load their own groceries arranged next to vehicles in the front of the school in order to minimize interaction with others and minimize any risk of virus infection. The pickup will be held even in the case of rain, according to Cruser.
She mentioned that the Bull Dog pantry, supported by a $1,000 monthly allocation of food from Indianapolis’ Gleaners Food Bank just as East’s is, is in good shape regarding both food supply and finances in case the need now or in the near future is greater than expected.
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What: Bull Dog Food Pantry grocery distribution for BCSC students and their families in need
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, rain or shine. Vehicles cannot be allowed into the parking lot until 9:45 a.m.
Where: Front of Columbus North High School via Maple Street and Bull Dog lane.
Information: [email protected]
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