Food and Nutrition Services, the McKinney-Vento program, and elementary School Resource Officers are working together to bring food assistance directly to students and families in transition.

Nassau County School District is helping connect students and families experiencing temporary or unstable housing situations with food support through a collaborative effort involving Food and Nutrition Services, the district's McKinney-Vento program, and the Nassau County School District Police Department.

Nassau County School District's Food and Nutrition Services Department, led by Director Trevor Kennedy, provided pallets of food boxes to support students served through the McKinney-Vento program, coordinated by McKinney-Vento Liaison Mollie Cressey. Each box contains enough food to provide support for up to seven days, helping make additional food resources available to students and families served through the program.

As Cressey began coordinating distribution, another need quickly became clear. Some families did not have transportation or the ability to pick up the boxes, and the size of the boxes made sending them home with students on school buses impractical.

That is when the district's elementary School Resource Officers stepped up.

Under the leadership of Chief D.J. Valentine, the Nassau County School District Police Department's elementary School Resource Officers are working with Cressey to help deliver food boxes directly to participating families after school hours. The partnership removes a transportation barrier and helps ensure the food reaches the students and families it is intended to support.

The effort brings together several areas of Nassau County School District. Food and Nutrition Services, led by Trevor Kennedy, provided the food resources; Mollie Cressey coordinated support for students and families through the McKinney-Vento program; and Chief D.J. Valentine and the Nassau County School District Police Department's elementary School Resource Officers are helping complete the final step by delivering the boxes directly to families.

What is the McKinney-Vento program?

The McKinney-Vento program helps protect the educational rights of children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. According to the Florida Department of Education, the program is designed to address barriers students may face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school and to help ensure equal access to a free, appropriate public education. 

Families may qualify for McKinney-Vento support if they are temporarily staying with others because of loss of housing or economic hardship, living in a hotel or motel because they do not have another adequate place to stay, staying in a temporary shelter, or experiencing another temporary or unstable housing situation.

How can Nassau County families receive McKinney-Vento services?

Families who believe their child may qualify for McKinney-Vento services can contact their child's school or Nassau County School District McKinney-Vento Liaison Mollie Cressey. The district can help determine eligibility and connect eligible students and families with available services and resources.

Learn more about the Nassau County School District McKinney-Vento program and Families in Transition services at: http://nassau.k12.fl.us/mckinney-vento

This project is a simple but meaningful example of the community that exists within the Nassau County School District. When a need is identified, people across departments step in, work together, and find a way to support students and families. That spirit of collaboration is one of the many ways Nassau puts students first.