The Berkley Digital Food Bank

Several years ago, a Berkley High School student had a big idea. In her freshman year she observed the generous outpouring of community support during the holiday season. Programs like Caring and Sharing and Holiday Family Adoption seemed to have the powerful effect of bringing the community together to anonymously support their neighbors and classmates.

She realized, however, that hard times for families don’t only occur during the holiday season. As we well know, hardships often strike much more randomly, often due to the unforeseen setbacks in life: unexpected layoffs, failed furnaces, car troubles, flooded basements and every other troubling circumstance families find themselves in. Out of this realization, this student felt compelled to create something that could provide consistent, year-round assistance for families in our District. Therefore, through much effort, planning and coordination with her Counselor, they formed The Berkley Digital Food Bank.

Since 2018, The Berkley Digital Food Bank has been accepting donations from members of the community and beyond. With those donations, we purchase gift cards redeemable for food, gas and other essentials necessary for families in need. Berkley High School Counselors then discreetly distribute these gift cards to identified students and families needing support. Although the student who had the initial idea to create The Berkley Digital Food Bank has since graduated, we have always felt that it’s important to continue this service. Since then, we’ve been fortunate that a current BHS student has stepped up and continues this important work.

As we flash forward to 2023, we find many of our families working through some of the same types of struggles as back then. However, in this post-pandemic world, those previous struggles have become amplified by the new factors they now face. In fact, most of us have been affected by those same factors (namely, inflation that contributes to the rising cost of gas, groceries, home-energy and other essentials). Therefore, The Berkley Digital Food Bank is as important as ever.

Without community support, The Berkley Digital Food Bank could not be possible. Your generous donations provide us with the continual funds that help our District families in their time of need.

We want to thank everyone for their consideration in helping to support The Berkley Digital Food Bank. We feel incredibly blessed to work in a District with students who are bettering the world around them and with a community that supports one another so generously. Whether you have made past donations, plan to donate, or are simply willing to help us spread our message, your assistance is appreciated.