School opens free grocery 'store' for students in need

Houston TX

30 April, 2021

1:33 PM

Description

Some days Tashune Edwards hasn't known how she and her kids would make it to their next meal. Thanks to Alief Independent School District and the nonprofit Communities In Schools of Houston (CIS), help is on the way for her family and others at Mata Intermediate School "I lost my job, my car. They were some very dark days," Edwards said. "CIS showed us someone cared, helping us with food, helping my son with counseling, and helping me as a mom. Now I feel like I'm in a better place with exciting things ahead for us." Alief ISD partnered with CIS to open a school pantry stocked with donated food, clothes, hygiene products and household essentials available to families in times of need. Edwards credits Abby Archer—the CIS student support specialist at Mata Intermediate where her son goes to school—for helping create momentum for positivity in her and her children's lives. "Without Ms. Archer, I don't know how I would make it," she said. Archer is no stranger to rolling up her sleeves and doing whatever it takes to help students and their families. It's what she does every day. "We want to take away the stigma of asking for help and teach our kids that if you're not OK, say something. If you need help, ask for it," Archer said. "We're not here on this earth to be alone and suffer by ourselves. That's why we're here." CIS accepts donations to help provide emergency resources like items for the school pantry. CIS partners with education leaders and community organizations to provide comprehensive services for students and families in their times of need. From crisis intervention, trauma and mental health counseling to providing basic necessities and other resources, CIS student support specialists have been called to help more than 125,000 students on nearly 170 campuses in Alief ISD, Aldine ISD, Houston ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Spring ISD, Southwest Schools and Lone Star Colleges.