Copiague School District's Food Pantry Receives $30K Donation

COPIAGUE, NY — Copiague' School District's in-school food pantry received a sizeable donation, the district announced.

Stop & Shop and Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company, donated $30,000 to the district's in-school food pantry, the Eagles Nest Food Pantry at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, which serves around 4,600 students across the district's six schools.

Specifically, the grocery store chain donated $20,000 while the food manufacturer donated $10,000 to the food pantry, providing for students attending Deauville Gardens East Elementary School, Deauville Gardens West Elementary School, Great Neck Road Elementary School, Susan E. Wiley Elementary School, Copiague Middle School, and Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School.

"I am incredibly proud of the vital role the Eagles Nest Food Pantry plays in supporting our Copiague students and their families," said Dr. Kathleen Bannon, superintendent of schools. "Access to nutritious food is essential for the well-being and success of our students, both inside and outside the classroom. The pantry ensures that no student goes without, helping to create a healthier, more focused learning environment. We are grateful to Stop & Shop, and their partner Kellanova, for their generous support of this initiative. Their contributions have had a tremendous impact, making it possible for us to serve even more students. Working together, we continue to ensure that Copiague remains a great place to live, learn and work."

The district’s four elementary schools qualify as Title 1 schools, which means they have a high percentage of students from low-income households. Overall, 67 percent of students in the district qualify as economically disadvantaged. The Walter G O’Connell Copiague High School is 64 percent, Copiague Middle School is 68 percent, Deauville Gardens East Elementary School is 66 percent, Deauville Gardens West Elementary School is 67 percent, Great Neck Road Elementary School is 69 percent, and Susan E. Wiley Elementary School is 74 percent.

According to district officials, the Copiague School District is designated a Community Eligibility Provision district, which allows the nation’s highest poverty districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students. Copiague has been providing free meals to all students in their schools since September 2019. In the 2023-24 school year, the Copiague School District served 909,474 breakfast and lunch meals.