Food insecurity is a real problem in St. Joe County, Indiana. In 2014, food stamp recipients in the county totaled to over 40,000 people. That’s roughly 15% of the population. According to the United Way of St. Joe County, 21% of residents suffer from food insecurity.
PNN reporter Ashley Catanzarite looks not only at the problem, but at a new group at Penn High School that is trying to do something about it.
PNN is helping the Kingsmen Care group in their efforts. Show #56 is dedicated to shining a light on the issue, and PNN is hosting the group’s web site here. The Kingsmen Care Twitter handle is https://twitter.com/KingsmenCare.
Kingsmen Care, PNN, and the Penn High School Counseling Center are using a survey that allows students to confidentially request a food bag that the students of Kingsmen Care
have assembled.
By answering the questions in the survey, students who would like to get a bag of food can make contact with the Penn Counseling Center. Then, they will receive a pass from the Counseling Center during their study hall. When they go to the Counseling Center, they can then put the food bag in their backpack to take home.
The movement to feed our hungriest citizens is a grassroots movement that includes many Penn student groups:
Seventy three members of the Penn staff have also signed on to help out. Animal and Life Sciences teacher, Mr. Lenig, is the primary sponsor of the Kingsmen Care group, and students are welcome to seek him out in his classroom, room 150.
Reah Frydrych 
Nathan Tingle 
Brandon Hall