The Jefferson R-7 School District has opened a grocery store and resource center for students and families in need.
The Jay Mart is set up in a 300-square-foot space that formerly was an office in the Telegraph Intermediate building, 1265 Dooling Hollow Road, south of Festus.
The project, announced more than a year ago, was slowed by supply issues and opened at the start of this school year.
“Trying to get shelving, for example, there was a several-months-long backlog,” said Steve Horn, Jefferson R-7 intervention specialist and point person for the program. “They just didn’t have the inventory.”
The store is stocked with food, hygiene and personal care supplies. The startup costs were covered with two $20,000 grants from the Jefferson Foundation.
“As of right now, we’ve received just over $25,000 in (additional) private donations as well,” Horn said.
The store is staffed by volunteers, mostly from the nearby Good News Community Church, and by district high school students, who can receive community service hours to meet their National Honor Society or A-plus program obligations.
The program has taken something of a departure from what school officials originally envisioned.
“We have shifted gears a bit,” Horn said. “It will be less of an in-person shopping experience and more of an online ordering process.”
There are several reasons for the change.
“A lot of families struggle with transportation, especially in the hours the store would be open,” Horn said. “So they don’t have to come in at a set time.
“Also, many do not have reliable internet service. We’ve set it up so they will have the ability to order on their child’s Chromebook, even without internet at home.”
Privacy is another factor.
“The way we are setting it up, the ordering process doesn’t involve names,” Horn said. “Once an application goes through my office, it gets assigned a number. Students or volunteers will then be able to fill the orders, similar to personal shoppers in grocery stores or Walmart.”
Then, families will be notified when their orders are ready and arrange a time to pick it up, school officials reported.
District Superintendent Clint Johnston said the shift in focus is a result of constantly changing circumstances.
“We’re evolving, like everyone else in these times,” he said. “One of the things we’ve learned is that protecting information is something we have to be very aware of when doing these kinds of programs. We have to follow laws like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and protect that info.”
The other change, made reluctantly, is that, at least for the foreseeable future, the store will be open only to district students and their families.
“That’s a hard answer to give, because we know there are a lot of people out there who are in need,” Johnston said. “But, before we start taking on a food pantry mindset, we need to ensure we’re taking care of our needs here in the district. Our objective is trying to help our kids, to work with students and families to meet their needs. If you open it up (to the public), it’s harder to control, and it can get away from you real quick.”
There will be no hard-and-fast criteria for determining eligibility for supplies and services, Johnston said.
“Our staff knows the students and knows the families very well,” he said. “Everyone is working to make sure that for all kids who have recognized need, that need is being met.”
“We talked about outlining criteria, but circumstances change,” Horn added. “We wanted the flexibility to be able to support someone who might not meet all the criteria on paper but who nevertheless has need.”
When deciding what items to stock, school officials have emphasized sticking to basics, items that can best help struggling families.
“We’re building this around staples, foods that have a long shelf life, like soups, spaghetti, peanut butter – things that don’t take a lot of extra ingredients to make a meal,” Johnston said. “We want things that are microwaveable or are ‘just add water’ style.”
Both Johnston and Horn emphasized the link between food security and school success.
“We know if the kids’ basic needs aren’t being met, they aren’t going to have educational success,” Horn said. “We know that as inflation has become more prevalent, families are starting to experience challenges that can lead to food shortages. We want to make sure when they come to school, they’re ready to learn, and they’re not worrying about being hungry.”
Families will be able to get more than groceries and supplies at the center, Horn said.
“Part of the grant includes having a resource center where parents and students can access mental health and other resources in the same way they can request groceries,” he said. ‘That also goes through me, to maintain privacy.”
Plans are to sustain the program through grant funding and community support.
“A lot of the cost going forward will be just inventory,” Horn said. “It’s great that we have a community that rallies around this kind of situation.”
Johnston said he hopes the program is self-sustaining.
“We have a lot of unknowns right now in the district, and we have to take it one step at a time,” he said. “We feel like if we build the program, we are confident we can find a way to continue to support it.”
Donations may be made to the Jay Mart program by calling 636-937-7940 or by visiting the district website at jr7.k12.mo.us or its Facebook page.