OCEANSIDE — Members of the Grammy Award-winning local band Switchfoot celebrated the opening of Libby Elementary School’s new food pantry in partnership with Feeding San Diego.
The Switchfoot Bro-Am Foundation chose to designate its annual donation to Libby Elementary, which has been on the waitlist to join the program. With the pantry, the school will be able to distribute nutritious food on campus at no cost to families twice a month.
Drummer Chad Butler and bassist Tim Foreman visited Libby Elementary on Feb. 26, where more than 83 households were served. Principal Art Carrasco and Feeding San Diego CEO Bob Kamensky were also in attendance and spoke at the event.
Foreman, who used to live in Oceanside, said the cause was “very near and dear” to the musicians’ hearts.
“Being able to pass out food is kind of the best feeling in the world,” he said.
The pantry’s opening is part of a larger overall expansion of Feeding San Diego’s School Pantry Program. There are still 27 schools on a waitlist to be a part of this program, and the waitlist continues to grow.
Feeding San Diego currently has 60 school pantries and has been seeking donors to fund the program’s expansion.
The Switchfoot Bro-AM Foundation has stepped in to provide funding for Libby Elementary’s school pantry for the next three years.
“I think about the way that food helps kids concentrate and do better in academic performance, the way it actually can improve their attendance,” Butler said, noting benefits of increasing access to food in communities like Libby Elementary.
Libby Elementary is part of Oceanside Unified School District with just under 500 students enrolled in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade. The student population is multi-generational, with a large Hispanic/Latino population.
Libby is also a Community School, a designation emphasizing school staff partnering with families and community organizations to provide extra educational opportunities and support services that promote student success.
Approximately 90% of households enrolled at Libby qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
The school pantry program is provided at no cost to schools and provides groceries for nights and weekends, often benefitting not just students but the full family, particularly multi-generational households.
Feeding San Diego cautions that while California currently requires public schools to provide students with free meals while at school, future budget deficits and cuts could take away such nutrition programs, which is why having the school pantries and other similar programs stationed throughout the San Diego region is important.
