Janie’s Pantry – One Year Later: TPS Elementary & Boyk Law Still Fighting Childhood Hunger
In early 2023, Charles Boyk Law partnered with Larchmont Elementary School to launch Janie’s Pantry, an innovative new program designed to feed hungry kids and improve performance in the classroom.
“Toledo Public Schools does an excellent job with free meals, but many students were relying on multiple school-provided meals due to food shortages at home,” she shares. “We were providing essentials like food, clothing, and hygiene products out of our own pockets until the idea for the pantry came about,” Principal Kari Sharp explains.
“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. The pantry was equipped with shelving, and stocked with food, and other essentials.
“There is no overhead for us,” says Larchmont School Psychologist Sarah Darrow. “All of the funding goes straight to the children or their families. We’re grateful because we get to see them thriving and doing better in school as a result.”
Today, Janie’s Pantry is serving even more students and families. School leadership revised the ordering process, which can now be handled online or by returning an order form to the school. Older seventh and eighth-grade Larchmont 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.”
Recently the school’s parents’ group began collecting and gently used clothing for families as well. “It’s no secret that kids outgrow clothing very fast, and this is a way for the families to help each other,” says Darrow.
“I’m so impressed that they are so proactive,” says Chuck Boyk. “Instead of doing nothing, they thought out of the box and it’s just super impressive.”
Teachers and administrators from other schools have reached out to Larchmont about their program, and Principal Sharp hopes that 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.
For those interested in supporting Janie’s Pantry with donations, monetary or otherwise, please contact Larchmont Elementary School at 419-671-3650. Together, let’s ensure no student faces hunger, empowering them to thrive both in and out of the classroom.
