Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools to host first School Market at North

Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools has partnered up with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to host School Market, a fresh produce distribution market program, on a monthly basis.

The free and open to the public market will begin Sept. 5 at North High School, 34041 Stevens Blvd. in Eastlake, at 10 am and will run until noon.

According to Heather Dodd, director of pupil services for the school district, the district was aware that Mentor was hosting something similar in their district, which was well received by their community.

“We had a North graduate reach out to North High School to see if we would be interested in partnering,” Dodd said. “He worked for the food bank. After he reached out to North, it got sent my way.”

Dodd proceeded to reach out to the food bank and began working with the coordinating for the School Market program.

“Quickly, they were excited to have us for the west end of Lake County,” she said. “It was a matter of filling out some paperwork and getting our dates picked, and then we were on the books to do this every month.”

The district is going to start off with distributing 8,000 pounds of fresh produce at each market.

“It’s not just open to students or families of students in the district,” Dodd said. “It’s open to the whole community. We want to partner with our community and we know that food insecurity impacts our community. “We know it’s going to give everyone access to fresh food and healthy options.”

Following the Sept. 5 market, the markets will take place on the first Thursday of the month between 10 am and noon, and will rotate between North and South High School, located at 4900 Shankland Road in Willoughby.

“The only date we aren’t doing the first Thursday of the month is in January because school is not in session on that date,” Dodd said.

Laketran has also become a partner with the district and have provided bags, as well as Heinen’s. United Way is partnering to assist the district with volunteers.

“I love doing things that are proactive and help support our community,” Dodd said, noting that this program not only addresses food insecurity, but promotes healthy eating.

The district is committed to one year of hosting the market every month.

“We have it set up through next September,” she said. “We want to get one under our belt and then we’re hoping we can increase the volume of produce to be able to reach more families. It’s been well received and not that there hasn’t been behind-the-scenes work, but easy to implement.”

The program is also going to allow students to be able to step up and get involved to help their community, Dodd said.

“We see our students are empathetic, compassionate and eager to get involved,” she said. “People come together around being able to help others. I’m hoping other districts see it and want to do it as well. “There are a lot of opportunities through the food bank.”

Leftovers after each market will be distributed to the Salvation Army in Painesville, which will then be used in the meals they serve.

Originally Published: September 4, 2024 at 6:00 am

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Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools to host first School Market at North

ByS. Jacob

By S. Jacob

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