Broken Arrow Public Schools Maintenance Workers Build Food Pantry For Special Education Students

Special Education students at Broken Arrow High School are learning some very important life skills thanks to three employees in the district's maintenance department.

It’s a food pantry that’s run by several Broken Arrow special education students. The pantry is for 9th through 12th-grade students in emergency situations.

According to the district, it’s also teaching job skills to the students who are running it.

The students involved unload the food truck, sort items, pack bags and fill orders. And it also teaches teamwork and the importance of giving back to the community.

District officials say the program will help prepare the students with independent living skills they will need after high school.

The food pantry would not have happened without three of the district’s maintenance workers. Aaron Michalski, Donnie Blackketter, and David Rohde built the food pantry for the students.

More than 45 students wrote thank you letters to the maintenance staff for making their food pantry dreams come true.

According to the district, most of the food comes from the Community Food Bank of Oklahoma.