As School Buildings Close, South Lakes High School’s Food Pantry Seeks Donations

South Lakes High School’s food pantry — which serves students in the South Lakes pyramid — is accepting a final round of drop-off donations today.

The pantry is expected to close its physical location today after Fairfax County Public Schools’ moved to close all school buildings today (Monday), except 18 sites that operate as food distribution centers.

Drop-off donations will be accepted today from until 10:45 a.m. at the school (11400 South Lakes Drive). Bags will be distributed from 2:30-4 p.m.

Roberta Gosling, a coordinator of the efforts, says that distribution is expected to shift to coordination with county-wide initiatives.

Gosling stressed that the situation is “very fluid.”

As of Saturday, the pantry volunteers had originally planned to scale back hours and offer 200 pre-packed “grab and go” bags on a weekly basis. Volunteers were also expected to assemble later this week to assemble the packages.

The pantry is in need of the following items:

• Pasta sauce
• Canned tomatoes
• Pasta
• Dry rice
• Dry beans
• Cereal
• Oil
• Peanut Butter
• Crackers in boxes
• Oatmeal
• Applesauce
• Soup
• Bar soap
• Toilet Paper
• Tuna
• Microwave popcorn (individual packages)
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Maxi pads (24-unit packs)

Photo by Roberta Gosling