According to the Mercer County Food Bank, many children in the county are depending on their schools to get more than just an education.
 
“Some of that is because of SNAP cuts and the pause on SNAP, but some of it too is just, it’s an increased need,” said Alexis Spence-Locke, director of development at the MCFB. “The cost of groceries [is] growing exponentially, and honestly, children are becoming our largest subset of individuals who need help.”
 
Spence-Locke told 21 News that of the 13,128 students in Mercer County — across all schools, public and private — 6,702 of them visited a school food pantry in November. That adds up to 51%, which Spence-Lock said is the highest the food bank has seen.
 
One of those school food pantries is located inside Sharon High School. Lisa Fox, pantry coordinator for the Sharon City School District, told 21 News it started with a backpack program at the elementary school and developed into a full pantry that offers students fresh, frozen and shelf-stable foods.
 
“The nice thing about not having just the backpack program, but having the pantries, is we're able to provide for families, not just for individual students,” Fox said. “They get more than just applesauce and a cheese stick. … We're sending home whole meals.”
 
According to Fox, the pantry used to run solely on donations, but a partnership with Mercer County Food Bank has allowed Sharon City Schools to provide a wider variety of items to students. In addition to filling their stomachs, she said, this helps students feed their brains.
 
“Brain fog is a real thing,” Fox said. “When you don't eat, your body doesn't have the fuel that it needs to work the way it's supposed to.”
Pennsylvania SNAP benefits have resumed, but according to Spence-Locke, the MCFB isn't breathing a sigh of relief just yet.
 
“We don't see that this is going to decrease,” Spence-Locke said. “Maybe it could stay the same, but we do honestly believe that it would continue to increase.”