Through community partnerships among Billings Public Schools, the Tumbleweed Runaway Program, Salvation Army, Family Services, Inc., and with help from the Billings Metro VISTA Project, food pantries were established within the local middle and high schools in 2011. Small, discreet closets or rooms within the school house the pantries which provide at-risk students, many of whom are homeless, wit
h a safe and secure way to acquire healthy food and toiletries. The program has also helped to raise awareness and a community-wide focus on childhood hunger. The success of this project will help to keep children in schools and help them to succeed in life!