Denmark High School has realized how not having the right resources can cause an issue in your successful day. Having a roaring stomach fill the quiet room with noise can cause a distraction towards yourself, making you ponder off in other thoughts that are not relevant to school.  They have implemented a solution to a problem amongst the student body. Mrs. Covington is the graduation coach and strives to provide as many helpful tools as possible in order to have the students successfully graduate. She mentioned,  “I really believe in trying to remove any barriers to learning as much as we can.” The Pantry is a storage unit containing food, school supplies, shoes, canned goods, basic everyday needs, etc. Any essentials that may be needed in order to help students reach their full potential within an educational environment. The Pantry at Denmark High School is located in the counseling suite, in Mrs. Covington’s office. Having this here at school is extremely helpful and useful for many in order to focus on their educational day without having to focus on external issues. 

Entering Mrs.Covington’s office, many racks will be located in front of her desk. They each contain numerous items such as backpacks filled with supplies, closed-toed shoes, canned food, hygiene items, snacks, and school materials. All students have access to it at all times throughout the day. Mrs. Covington claims, “If you wake up one morning and forget to eat breakfast that could easily just impact your day. And then you’re not focusing on what you need to be focusing on.” Even something as simple as not not having the right resources has the power to create a barrier in a learning day, and cause distractions in someone’s education. Denmark notices these struggles and attempts to mend them by providing nutrients for all their students.

“I really believe in trying to remove any barriers to learning as much as we can.”

When asked the origin of the pantry, she responded with, “Even the staff has talked about how not eating breakfast in the morning could throw off your whole day. It really could result in how your day turns out. ” Their main mission focuses on the idea of how they could take away any distractions from someone’s learning day. To prevent any obstacles that could cause learning to be difficult in the classroom environment such as hunger. Covington proceeds by announcing that “This was the premise of what we can do to take those small things out of the way to keep the kids focused.” Denmark strives to relieve students of factors that may be out of their control. By providing the bare essentials, teens can take their minds off anxiously worrying about not having items that many take for granted. By doing this, students can get the most out of their education and set themselves up for success in creating a better future for themselves.

Not only is the pantry just limited to students, but they may also bring multiple items to their households and families. This gives children an opportunity to have food available to them at all points throughout the day even when not in sch

ool. This is why staff and students are constantly adding additional resources and trying to expand what they already have, in order to help out further. With this It has increased the amount of stability inside and outside of campus. 

In order to provide these highly demanded supplies, clubs and organizations encourage students to bring in items in order to continuously stock the Pantry. Clubs such as the Beta Club host different food, clothing and supply drives periodically in order to increase student body participation. This benefits both sides because by donating these items, service hours can count towards students club admission, while also helping the community.

Denmark strives to encourage their students to achieve their goals. The food pantry is just one example of how they help eliminate issues with the aim of having their students reach out and achieve their full potential.