When Kashley Gordon, a senior at Pilot Rock High School near Pendleton, learned that she has classmates experiencing hunger, she was shocked.
“It was very surprising to know that not only are there kids in our community but also kids in our county that need support from us, because they don’t have food for the weekend,” she said.
That support is now a reality thanks to a supplemental food program created by a partnership between the school district and St. Anthony Hospital. Funded by a grant from CommonSpirit Health, which owns St. Anthony, Golden and other members of the Pilot Rock High School leadership group assemble food bags every week for students in need.
“They’ll find a breakfast, plus basically two lunches and snacks,” said Helen Doherty, a social worker at Pilot Rock High School.
The bags are delivered to the principal’s office and placed discreetly and confidentially into the students’ backpacks. “The other kids can’t see that they’re packing around extra food,” said Doherty.
The supplemental food program is part of St. Anthony’s community benefit mission. The hospital was aware of the existence of childhood hunger in Umatilla County from research done as part of its community health needs assessment. Completed every three years, findings from the assessment help St. Anthony target specific issues with programs to improve community health.
“It does touch people’s lives. It’s difficult when young students leave their elementary school on Friday and all they may have is some of the food bags we’re supporting through our grants,” said Harry Geller, president of St. Anthony Hospital.
Principal Dave Norton is proud of the students involved in the program.
“We have an amazing community in Pilot Rock. It’s extremely supportive. If there’s a family that is going through struggles of some sort, everybody comes together,” He said. Norton said he’s grateful for the collaboration with the hospital. “St. Anthony has been a great partner for us at Pilot Rock for the last several years,” said Norton, who noted that in addition to the food program, St. Anthony offers free physicals for the high school’s student athletes.
For senior Aubrey Corwin, helping pack and distribute food has taught her about her community. She says she’s grateful to St. Anthony for supporting the program.
“I just think about how much it could mean to the kids,” she said. “I would say the hospital is amazing, especially for giving us the opportunity to help the kids.”