Boyk Law is Going Back To School to Support Another Year of Janie’s Pantry & Student Incentives

Larchmont Elementary is located in the neighborhood near the Miracle Mile Shopping Center, and serves K-8 students in the Toledo Public School District. Most of its students come from poor socio-economic backgrounds.

“We had a lot of students who were hungry, and teachers were supplying food out of pocket constantly,” recalls Larchmont Principal Kari Sharp. “We also saw a lot of students who were unkempt or were wearing the same clothes over and over again, or were not bathing at home, or things of that nature. And then we saw a lot of students that were hoarding different foods in the cafeteria when there were extras because of the lack of having those things at home… So we as a school team decided that we were going to try to assist those kids to be able to meet those needs.“

Principal Kari Sharp says she and her staff, decided to “find a community partner to help us purchase food, personal hygiene products or household cleaning supplies for students and families that are in need. That way, we can assist students to be able to learn better by meeting their basic needs. We were lucky enough to find Charles Boyk Law and we worked with them to come up with a solution, and through a generous donation from Charles Boyk Law, we were able to start Janie’s Pantry.”

“I’ve been pitched lots of ideas over the years”, says Chuck Boyk, “but when I heard their idea for helping schools and children in the Toledo Public School District, it blew me away and I thought it was one of the best ideas I’d ever heard.” Chuck and his family agreed to fund the program, which was named Janie’s Pantry after his late Mother-in-law.

Janie’s Pantry was established in storage closet inside Larchmont’s school library. It was equipped with shelving, and stocked with food, and other essentials.

“The Islamic Food Bank also donates a lot of our food and canned good items, says School Counselor Jessica. We offer fresh fruit and actually have perishables, frozen foods or things that need refrigerated. We have a refrigerator and a microwave for whatever our kiddos need.”

Toledo Public Schools already provides free meals to needy children during the school day, but Larchmont leadership realized, their families needed more.

“At first, we started off thinking about providing snacks for the students throughout the day or to take home,” says School Psychologist, Sarah Darrow. “And then we saw more of a need of of shelf stable items like peanut butter and jelly. And some of the families started requesting household items like cleaning products and shampoo and toiletries.

“Now we offer personal hygiene supplies, food supplies and household items for students and their families who cannot afford those things on their own,” Principal Kari Sharp explains. “Many of our teachers were providing the food, clothing, and hygiene products out of our own pockets until the idea for the pantry came about.”

“Some families go to the store and they have to decide, do I get a cleaning product or do I get food? By providing toilet paper, toothbrushes, personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies, diapers and formula, we’re helping the families not have to choose, they can get both.”

No taxpayer money or school funding is used in the operation of Janie’s Pantry. “All of the donated funding goes straight to the children or their families says Larchmont School Psychologist Sarah Darrow. We’re grateful because we get to see them thriving and doing better in school as a result.”

School leadership created an online system of requesting and ordering items by email or using a QR code which links to a Google document. “We have a QR code and people can go online,” says School Counselor Jessica Kronovich. “It’s on our Facebook page, and every now and again, I send home our link through our Facebook page and the QR code, and the influx comes in right away. As soon as we send the QR code home, we have tons of families wanting things.”

Larchmont’s seventh and eighth-grade students are learning early job skills by stocking shelves, taking inventory, and fulfilling orders. Parental volunteers also assist with the program, which strives to maintain anonymity. “We try to make it as accessible as possible while also maintaining anonymity, says Principal Sharp. “We never want to make people feel self-conscious about asking for help, and while school staff know who the families are, the students and volunteers helping with the program do not.”

Access to Janie’s Pantry has improved test scores and become a lifeline for Larchmont’s students and families. During the summer months, teachers and school leadership have helped those in need by coming into the school to fill a desperate order. “We’re a community, and at Larchmont,” says Sarah Darrow. “We consider ourselves family, and we will do anything for our students to help them reach their highest potential.”

Principal Sharp hopes Janie’s Pantry can serve as a pilot program, to address broader needs within the district. “Long term, I would like to see something similar in all of the school buildings, because there are a lot of elementary schools and high schools in the TPS area that could use the same program”, she says.

The success of Janie’s Pantry has inspired school leadership to seek solutions for other challenges facing their community. “We submitted a proposal to the Boyk Family to use some funding for positive behavioral support and incentives for students to come to school, arrive on time, show, be, respond, respectful, responsible,” says Sarah Darrow. And reduce office behavioral referrals.”

They implemented a Positive Recognition System to encourage good behavior. “Students are given “Cub Cash” when they’re found or caught being respectful, responsible or ready,” explains Ms. Darrow. “They can save the Cub Cash, and then use it to purchase prizes from our trophy case once a month.”

The Larchmont Trophy Case contains snacks, school supplies, toys, and unique experiences they can purchase, such as sitting in the teacher’s chair, chewing gum during the day, or a lunch the Principal. The contents of the case come from the donated funds from the Boyk Family. The students can buy items using their Cub Cash rewards.

“We also use it,” explains Sarah. “We’ve also used donations from the Boyk family for incentives within the school too, such as an ice cream party for a class that participated in an academic reading intervention project, So, it’s all kid oriented, and to reward any and all students within Larchmont to support them as much as possible.”

During the 2024-25 school year, students were rewarded with paper scrip. This year, Principal Sharp says Larchmont students are moving toward a digital account balance. It will give them access to their account and provide possible learning experiences with math and Digital Banking.

”It’s working, and that’s huge for us,” says School Counselor Jessica Kronovich. “I’ve been here for 10 years, and we have been actively trying different behavior incentives and reward systems for students. And with this, I’ve seen a huge difference. Oh my gosh!”

“Larchmont is like a family, and we take on everything,” says Sarah Darrow. “We’re helping to do everything we can to help all of the students in the school succeed.”