Here is information I have been provided from another wonderful organization providing food and materials for the children in our school system:

Linda’s Giving Basket focuses on closing the food insecurity gap and other shortages such as school materials and basic supplies for some of our needy children in Howard County, MD. We opened our first of Linda’s Giving Baskets at Lake Elkhorn Middle School this week and hope to expand soon. We aim to provide food and school supplies to children and their families who are struggling to obtain healthy food and proper materials. Our pantry is a more broadly focused traditional food pantry that goes beyond basic school snacks and supplies in targeted schools with exceptionally high needs. We focus holistically on the gap these students have both in and out of school.

We do this by directly partnering with HCPSS schools so that children have direct access to their supplies without having to go elsewhere. This solves the struggles of transportation as well as determining which community resources have specific hours to obtain their basic needs. While food banks and other resources are open all over the county, they may not be open during hours or locations in which these children and their families can reach. This eliminates this concern by allowing kids to acquire items at their own school.

Please support this effort by bringing materials on the list below to the event where Linda’s Giving Basket will be at (more on that coming soon), where they will be collected and delivered directly to the pantry located within a public school in Howard County.

Pantry Food List

Pastas

Pasta Sauces (no glass containers)

Individual soup servings

Individual mac n cheese servings

Individual chilis/stews

Individual Chef Boyardee meals

Individual snacks (pretzels, cheese crackers, pirate booty, fruit snacks etc)

Individual fruit servings/canned fruit

Individual applesauce

Individual cereals

Large cereal boxes

Cereal bars

Shelf Stable milk

Complete pancake mix

Syrup

Peanut/Nut/Sun butters

Crackers

Instant oatmeal

Granola bars

Individual raisin packs

Rice a roni

Hamburger/Tuna Helper/Boxed meals

Canned tuna/chicken

Canned vegetables

Juice boxes/milk (plain or chocolate) drink boxes

Toiletries (soap, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant)

Ziplock bags (sandwich, quart, gallon sizes)

Pantry School Enrichment List

Chair bands for desks

Fidgets

Wiggle seats

Crayons

Markers

Pencils

Scissors

Jump ropes

Card games for kids

Frisbees

Recess balls (basketballs, soccer balls, footballs, dodge balls)

Disinfecting wipes

Hand sanitizer

Dry erase lapboards

Headphones

Electric pencil sharpeners

Post-it notes

Scientific calculators

Index cards

Protractors

Geometry compasses

Glue Sticks

Pencil pouches

Highlighters

Colored Pencils

Spiral notebooks

Tissues

There is also a listing on Amazon for those interested in supporting in that way (This wish list is for Lake Elkhorn Middle School & Cradlerock Elementary schools’ food & supply pantry, benefiting those children who have weekend food needs as well as school supplies. Any donation helps!): https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1Z7KZO6QS7HPS

You can follow Linda’s Giving Basket on Facebook here for future updates: https://www.facebook.com/LindasGivingBasket/

It is great that our community has organizations like Linda’s Giving Basket and The Kindness Pantry (and many others) providing support for those in need in our county.

Scott E