A food pantry for students in need was opened up by junior AP Humanities teacher Debbie Brininstool with the help of Assistant Principal Dorrie Loughborough at the beginning of the school year.

The decision to make a public announcement about the service came after students stopped going to the pantry.

“I had to throw some food away, and that bothered me that the food was there, but it wasn’t being utilized,” Brininstool said.

Brininstool was inspired to start the pantry last summer when she read “Janesville,” a book about the struggles experienced in Janesville, Wis. after the General Motors plant shut down, leaving many without jobs.

“Although we’re not experiencing that here, Janesville was a fairly well to do community and when the jobs went away, all of these kids who were used to contributing to food pantries, became in need,” Brininstool said.

Brininstool contacted Assistant Principal Jennifer Hawes and Loughborough, and within a few days, Assistant Principal Jason Mullin secured and cleaned a room for the pantry.

“I’ve always made the assumption that the kids at Marcus High School lived the way my kids lived, or similarly,” Brininstool said.

Ten years ago, Brininstool had a student whose mother was mentally ill and father had walked away from the family. The student worked 40 hours a week and provided the sole income for her family. Principal Gary Shafferman and the school paid for her family’s electric bills and made arrangements for the family to move to Georgia, where they had extended family. Over 100 students are classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged.

“That always stuck with me that we have kids who are going through some tough times that we don’t even see,” Brininstool said. “How many of our kids are not legally socioeconomically disadvantaged but maybe their parent is mentally ill or parent is partying or fighting with a parent or any other number of reasons? Basic necessities of life aren’t available every single day.”

Their announcement has received widespread support from the community — their post on Facebook received over 300 likes and over 200 shares. A Flower Mound community member donated a new microwave to the pantry after seeing the post.

Students interested in receiving help from the pantry can go to A206 and ask the attendance clerks, who will discreetly unlock the door, and leave the room open to browse. The pantry has shopping bags and backpacks full of school supplies.

“Protecting [students’] privacy is paramount. It’s the most important thing,” Brininstool said.

Part of the effort to spread the word about the pantry included making posters to place around the school. Junior Kristen Stubenazy offered to make the posters in the hallways.

“I hope because of this, more students will use it. I hope it can actually spread the word,” Stubenazy said. “Even if one person sees it and thinks ‘hey, that might actually be useful,’ then I consider my work accomplished.”

Currently, the main goal for the pantry is simply spreading the word so students in need can be aware of it. Once they find out what’s being used by students, then they’ll know what to ask for. Brininstool says in the future she would like to add a fridge to the pantry.

“Once we know who our clientele is and what they want, we will leave no stone unturned, making sure they have what they want and need,” Brininstool said.