Anyone who recently tossed a coin into a fountain or water feature at the Pechanga Resort & Casino near Temecula helped feed a needy family.

The casino combed its areas that include water for coins and counted $10,000. Then it donated the cash to open a food pantry for families at Elsinore Elementary School in Lake Elsinore.

The casino joined with Feeding America IE and the Elsinore Women’s Club for the project. More than 96 percent of students on the campus receive free or discounted meals. Aside from a small market, there isn’t a grocery store near the school.

“This is a great opportunity for us to meaningfully interact with students and families in our community and provide them with healthy food options that take care of them over the weekend,” said Heidi Dodd, president of the Elsinore Women’s Club and a Lake Elsinore school board member.

Bags can be refilled with fresh food every Thursday throughout the summer and contain perishable and non-perishable items. Special emphasis was placed on fresh fruit and vegetables. The bags also include a bilingual cookbook with recipes using many of the items in the bag.

The pantry will run all summer for summer-school students and their families, before opening to the entire school when the school year begins in August.

One recipient, Michelle Nugent, said the food bags will be a big help in feeding her six kids.

“It means a whole lot,” she said in a Pechanga news release. “My daughter loves coming here and with this right here, this will be great to feed my kids for the week.”

The casino plans to donate more coins to the pantry after future cleanings.