Twin Cities Academy Staff Build 'Little Food Shelf' To Keep Students, Families Fed During Pandemic

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Staff at a St. Paul school decided to help their students during the pandemic by making sure they have enough to eat.

Twin Cities Academy (TCA) says they serve about 70% of its families with free or reduced priced lunch. And although the east side charter school delivers over 1,500 breakfast's and lunches weekly to its students, the teachers and mental health team knew that wasn't going to be enough.

This gave TCA teacher Samantha Berg and the school's social worker Lisa Dennis an idea to build a "Little Food Shelf," inspired by the "Little Library," where people can drop off shelf-stable food for families in need.

"Teenagers need a lot of food, and so many of our families rely on more than the daily breakfast and lunch we serve -- the 'Little Food Shelf' is for any families on the east side who might just need a little more," Dennis said in a statement.

"A lot of our students use our food shelf at school and we know this is going to be a time of need for them," Berg said.

Now the bright blue waterproof box sits next to the "Little Library" in the courtyard at TCA, and people can drop off or pick up non-perishable food at any time of the day.

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