Neighbors unite to help local children via Geneva Heights Elementary food pantry

No hassle. No judgment. Just dignity, nourishment and community care. This sums up the philosophy of the Geneva Heights Elementary Peace Pantry, and Lakewood Heights neighbors Ginny and David Roe can tell you all about it.

It was 2022 when their son Matthew was starting first grade at GHE. That was also the year the campus was torn down and a rebuild began. Students were bussed to a temporary campus, and it was at the bus stop that the Roes began chatting with other families from the school. A conversation with Sandee Jennings, former head of the Peace Pantry, convinced the Roes that they wanted to be involved.

Ginny and David and other volunteers got busy helping pack bags of groceries and shopping for needed items. And they learned to be flexible.

“Since we didn’t have much room at the temporary campus, Interfaith Family Services allowed us to use a room at their facility to store food and get bags packed for delivery to the school,” she remembers.   

Interfaith provides housing and services to empower families in crisis to break the cycle of poverty and is zoned to Geneva Heights, so students who are using their housing typically attend GHE.

Partnering with the Woodrow Wilson High School Peace Pantry, the GHE pantry serves students and families by distributing shelf-stable groceries to those who need it most. At the beginning of the school year, the school sends an intake form home with every student. Families who need assistance simply fill it out and send it back to school. 

“Forms are available all year long and we have been publicizing this in our school communications since things have been so unstable around SNAP/WIC benefits with the government shutdown,” Ginny explains. Information is completely confidential and pantry volunteers have no idea whom they are serving. Based on a weekly, updated count from school administration, volunteers pack bags of groceries to send home with students.

The numbers have doubled since the end of last year. The Peace Pantry currently packs about 45 bags each week, always including the basic categories of canned protein, starch or grain, fresh fruit or vegetables, canned fruit or veggie, breakfast items and snacks. A recent bag contained tuna, Tuna Helper, canned corn, oranges, cornbread mix, granola bars, chips and instant oatmeal.

In addition to packing bags of food, the Roes and other volunteers have also participated in raising funds/donations for the always-in-need pantry. Happily, they’ve discovered that East Dallas takes care of its own.

One important fundraiser, Ginny says, is the Fill the Truck event sponsored by the Live Local Group, which benefits all Woodrow Wilson feeder schools. “This awesome event is close to the beginning of the school year, and 100% of the donations, both monetary and food, go to the participating pantries.” It raised over $14,000 in 2025.

Another example of neighborhood generosity came from another school around Thanksgiving.  “A GHE mom reached out to me to let me know that a friend of hers who has kids at Spanish World School wanted to know if they could help our pantry,” Ginny remembers. During their Thanksgiving parties, students at SWS put together large gift bags filled with snacks, ultimately donating 160 bags to the GHE pantry.

The Roes say they frequently receive inquiries from various neighborhood organizations asking how they can support. Belmont Addition Conservation District stepped up recently and contacted Ginny and David to tell them they wanted to help with Thanksgiving bags. Every year, the pantry provides bags for the holidays, including everything needed to make a traditional meal.

“BACD generously committed to getting 20 Thanksgiving bags done for us,” Ginny marvels. “After they had their fall fundraiser party, they let me know that they would be providing all 43 bags [at the time].”

Sometimes the pantry’s needs are met in seemingly miraculous ways. “A couple of weeks ago, we were unpacking all of the donations we had received that week, and I realized we were running out of shelf space,” Ginny recalls. Chatting with fellow volunteer Megan Fleming, Ginny brainstormed the idea of reaching out to John Watson, a former GHE parent who had been very involved in the pantry. “When we finished unpacking the last box, I checked my phone, and John had texted me out of the blue. He asked me if there was anything specific that the pantry needed. He bought two new shelving units that day and had them shipped to the school!” 

The same week, while packing bags, Ginny realized she had forgotten to buy fresh fruit for the bags and was about to leave for the grocery store when she got a call from Meghan Rice, a pre-K mom at GHE. “She told me she had just been at an event where she provided snacks and she had leftover items that she hoped could go to the pantry — among the items she brought were about 50 oranges.”

The stories of East Dallas support go on and on. The Roes mention Trader Joe’s generous donations of hundreds of bags, plus help from Taco Joint, The Avenue Sports Grill, Lakewood Vet Center, Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association and many others.

East Dallas, you’re generous. But remember, the needs of the pantry are greater now and are never-ending. If you would like to help Geneva Heights Elementary Peace Pantry, consider checking out their wishlist on Amazon. Maybe host a food drive or volunteer in person to help pack bags. If you’d prefer to pick up items at the grocery store, keep in mind there’s always a need for canned chicken and jelly (squeeze bottle).

“We live in a time where everywhere you turn you hear about how divided we are,” Ginny says. “But the Peace Pantry proves to me over and over again that people are good, and we will come together, no matter our differences, to help those who need it.”

For more information: pantry@genevaheightspta.org