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Food for Thought's Beginnings
Food for Thought's Beginnings
According to 2020-2021 statistics from the Virginia Department of Education, ⅓ of students in Rockbridge County High School are eligible to receive free or reduced-cost lunch, meaning that ⅓ of RCHS students are at high-risk of becoming food insecure. That's where Food for Thought steps in. We aim to help Wildcat students and their families by providing free food, clothing, and hygiene products. We believe that our efforts make RCHS a better learning environment by providing everyone with the materials they need to succeed.
According to 2020-2021 statistics from the Virginia Department of Education, ⅓ of students in Rockbridge County High School are eligible to receive free or reduced-cost lunch, meaning that ⅓ of RCHS students are at high-risk of becoming food insecure. That's where Food for Thought steps in. We aim to help Wildcat students and their families by providing free food, clothing, and hygiene products. We believe that our efforts make RCHS a better learning environment by providing everyone with the materials they need to succeed.
Food for Thought was started by students Gianna McKeeman, Emily McClung, and Caroline Diette under the mentorship of Dr. Sandra Hayslette in an attempt to combat food insecurity at RCHS. We have been serving the Rockbridge County High School community since Fall of 2022 and continue to work to create a sustainable food and necessities pantry that will exist to help the community for years to come.
Food for Thought was started by students Gianna McKeeman, Emily McClung, and Caroline Diette under the mentorship of Dr. Sandra Hayslette in an attempt to combat food insecurity at RCHS. We have been serving the Rockbridge County High School community since Fall of 2022 and continue to work to create a sustainable food and necessities pantry that will exist to help the community for years to come.
Our 2024-25 Members
Our 2024-25 Members
Sandra Hayslette (Mentor):
Dr. Sandra Hayslette is a former teacher from RCHS whose sociology students researched, designed, and founded Food for Thought. She holds a PhD in 20th century U.S. history from UNC-Chapel Hill with a focus on education and its relationship to poverty in the rural south. She has done service-learning and community-based research projects with students in both Rockbridge County Schools and in college settings, including Warren Wilson College (where she was a professor of Appalachian Studies from 1999-2006) and Washington and Lee University (where she was coordinator of community-based research and the Bonner program from 2006-8). She has served on the board of directors of Total Action for Progress and is a long-time volunteer with Rockbridge Area Relief Association. She currently works as Director of Christian Education at Lexington Presbyterian Church and manages Food for Thought as a volunteer.
List of Student-Interns:
Sarah Brown (Senior)
Elsa Kerin-Rice (Junior)
Evelyn McClung (Junior)
Kellen Foster (Sophomore)
Food for Thought's student-interns are in charge of managing the day-to-day operations for the Food Pantry and Cinderella Program, with additional involvement in the Hygiene Hub and Clothes Closet.
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