Skyline High School’s food pantry grows into a school community staple

Thoughtful school staff are working to eliminate barriers for students, administrator says

A few steps from the principal’s office at Skyline High School, a door that once opened onto a storage closet now opens onto rows of shelves and labeled bins stocked with groceries and snacks. Students can step inside, fill a bag, and take it home. No questions asked.

The Skyline food pantry opened in October 2025 as a small, largely informal effort. In its second year, it has new shelving, a restocked supply, and a standing place in school communications, and staff members want every student at Skyline to know it is there.

Danielle Sims-Woods, an office professional at Skyline who oversees the pantry, said the need became impossible to ignore during the 2025-26 school year, as families faced disruptions to food assistance benefits and rising grocery prices.

“We saw a real need with students — not just ‘I need a snack,’ but that they didn’t have food,” Sims-Woods said. “Food insecurity is a real thing around here, and sometimes we forget.”

Sims-Woods and her colleagues consulted Skyline social workers, then asked the school community for help. Nearly everything on the shelves has been donated, and Skyline’s Student Action Senate raises money for the pantry through fundraisers held throughout the year.

She is quick to say the pantry is not a one-person project. Brianna Clifton and Maya Fields Jacobs helped start it and continue to help run it.

“Everybody’s giving me a lot of the credit, but I feel like it’s a team,” Sims-Woods said.

At the end of last school year, Sims-Woods asked school leaders to make the pantry a permanent fixture rather than an occasional one. Over the summer, she cleared out the closet, and the team purchased storage bins and shelving.

“We wanted it to feel like home,” she said.

The other change this year is visibility. Pantry hours now appear in Sky Times, the school’s regular family newsletter, alongside a reminder that students may come in without explaining why.

“Last year it wasn’t publicized much. Whenever we got food, we got food,” Sims-Woods said. “Now it’s a part of the community. Students know it’s here.”

The pantry is open before school, after school, and during lunch. Students who ride different buses can pick up groceries at midday, though snacks are reserved for before and after school, so students are still encouraged to eat lunch. Those who need more than a bag of groceries can talk with Sims-Woods or Clifton, who connect them with additional support. Parents sometimes stop in as well to ask whether the shelves are stocked.

Roberta Heyward, executive director of AAPS’ K-8, middle, and high school education, said the pantry is one example of school staff working to remove obstacles that follow students home.

“Thoughtful school staff are working to eliminate barriers for students,” Heyward said. “Traditionally, kids who don’t have food at home will go home hungry. Well, Skyline students don’t have to. They can go to the pantry, grab a grocery bag, and fill it for themselves and their siblings so they can put a meal on the table at home. It’s just amazing.”

For Sims-Woods, the pantry has become one of the most rewarding parts of her day.

“It makes my heart feel warm,” she said. “This is supposed to be a safe place and a warm place and a loving place.”