World Teacher’s Day Spotlight: A Teacher’s Mission to Provide Food to Students

Teachers make a significant impact on the lives of students in a myriad of ways. World Teacher’s Day is a day to celebrate how teachers transform education. This World Teacher’s Day, we’re spotlighting one teacher who saw a need and took action. Elizabeth Lonnecker, a ninth- and eleventh-grade English teacher at Hoover High School, noticed that her students were going hungry. She partnered with other staff and community resources to provide food in her classroom. Their collaboration sparked a change that transformed an entire campus and continues to inspire others to take action in their communities.

Elizabeth Lonnecker in the Hoover Market

It Started with Popcorn

Many teachers notice the effects of food insecurity in their classrooms. Children facing hunger often display more social and behavioral problems. According to Feeding America, they may also have developmental impairments in areas like language and motor skills. Ms. Lonnecker experienced a more tangible example.

“Last year, I opened one of my cupboards, and I have snacks in there. One of my students said, ‘Can I take popcorn home for the weekend?’ and I said, ‘Okay, you’ve got to give me a good reason,’ and she said, ‘Because sometimes I don’t have enough food on the weekends.’ So I said okay,” Ms. Lonnecker shared.

“It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that students didn’t have enough food. For many teachers, that’s an experience that they have as well. Our schools are microcosms of our communities. When our students don’t have healthcare, or housing, or food, their learning is really impacted.”

Meeting a Need

Hoover High School is a Title 1 school, meaning all students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch. However, Ms. Lonnecker realized that the program wasn’t enough.

“We have a great food program here, but we needed to fill the gaps at home on the weekend in the evenings,” she explained. Her first step was contacting Feeding San Diego’s Chief Supply Chain Officer, Patty O’Connor. “I contacted Patty, who is my dear friend from high school, because I knew she was at Feeding San Diego, and she said, ‘Let’s do something.’”

With the support of Feeding San Diego, Ms. Lonnecker took the first step of bringing food into her classroom.

“Last year, we started really small. We just did small classroom pantries because proximity is really important. Students needed to have access. So I got some items from Feeding San Diego and passed them along to my colleagues on the same floor, and I said, ‘Can you guys just do small classroom pantries?’ We just wanted to try it out and see if the kids would use it and if it was something they needed, and they did. At the beginning of this year, one of my students from last year came in, ‘Ms. Lonnecker, do you still have the food pantry?’ And I said, ‘Yes, we do.’”

Food Resources as a Part of Campus Life

It quickly became clear how much the students needed the food resources. Ms. Lonnecker worked with Richard Gijon, a community school coordinator at Hoover, to identify other ways to integrate the food from Feeding San Diego into their campus life. The small in-classroom pantries grew to include the Hoover Market, a food pantry in the library that’s open to all students. A food distribution is also available to all students and City Heights residents twice a month. Students earn community service hours by working at the market to distribute food.

Student volunteers distributing food to the community

“It’s been really rewarding to see how our whole entire Hoover community has come together and made this happen for our students. It’s truly become a campus-wide project. Students from one class are delivering the food. Another class is distributing the food.”

Ms. Lonnecker works with other staff members to remove barriers that prevent students from taking food.

“When a student needs food, they know that they can go to their pantry. They can take items from their classrooms at any time. It’s really wonderful when a kid says, ‘I’m hungry. What do you have?’ My students will bring in other students and ask if they can take stuff from the pantry, and I say, ‘Of course.’”

Expanding Minds and Pallets

Another barrier is a lack of understanding about specific items. To combat that, Ms. Lonnecker and her colleague, Tina Luu, try to introduce students to new and different foods.

“Last time, none of them would take Brussels sprouts because they didn’t know what to do with them. I said, ‘Take the Brussels sprout, we’ll look at recipes, and if you make them, everybody gets ten extra credit points.’ They ended up making recipes and started eating things they wouldn’t normally eat.”

On the other hand, Chef Luu leverages the power of TikTok to educate students about how to eat certain vegetables.

“We had a bunch of butternut squash, and everyone was like, ‘I don’t want butternut squash. I don’t know what to do with it.’ Chef Luu made this beautiful TikTok and said this is what you do with it. So then I brought a bunch of butternut squash into the classroom and said, ‘Now, who wants it.’ And they said, ‘Now I do because I know what to do with it.’”

Chef Luu working with a Hover High School student

Prioritizing Healthy Eating

When it comes to serving her students, Ms. Lonnecker knows it’s not just about providing food. Her goal is to educate about and improve access to healthy food.

“Our leading causes of death are all related to our diet in America right now. It impacts not only our longevity, but it’s also impacting our daily lives. Since the Hoover Market has started, when I have a bucket of oranges and apples, I’m seeing much less chips. They’re really being a lot more mindful about what they’re eating. It’s made a huge difference. Access to healthy food is a fundamental need, and it’s pretty rewarding to see that happening on our campus.”

As part of her lesson plan, Ms. Lonnecker encourages her students to educate others about healthy eating.

“My ninth graders are writing lessons and videos to educate the whole campus about the connection between food and health. They just did lessons where they talked about how it impacts your learning and your memory.”

The Power of Partnerships

Ms. Lonnecker recognizes the power of asking for help. Hoover High School’s partnership with Feeding San Diego has ripple effects throughout the campus.

“I feel like it’s been transformational. It’s pretty amazing to be able to provide this on our campus to our students. We need to be meeting our students’ needs, and we can’t do it alone as a school. We need partners like Feeding San Diego. There’s a lot happening in our students’ lives, and we want to be able to do everything we can to support them. My hope is that other schools can replicate this.”

Honoring Teachers on World Teacher’s Day

The theme for World Teacher’s Day 2023 is “The teachers we need for the education we want.” Ms. Lonnecker and the other incredible teachers at Hoover High School go above and beyond the call of duty for their students. We’re proud to feature them for this year’s World Teacher’s Day. You can take action to help teachers like them by supporting Feeding San Diego’s school pantry program as a donor or a volunteer.