LAYTON, Utah — Layton High School's Teen Connection Center is working to make sure no student goes hungry — and the effort has earned the school recognition from Smith's Zero Hunger Hero program.
The center is a safe space on campus where students can connect with resources including counseling, laundry facilities, and a food pantry that serves students and their families.
Principal Corby Eason was an administrative intern at Layton High School in 2020 when he was tasked with helping design the center.
This is his first year back at the school as principal, and he said he is proud to see how much it has grown.
"We noticed that kids and family need some support," Eason said. "We want to make sure kids and families can get any needs met.”
Eason said the center was designed to welcome families who might otherwise hesitate to seek help.
A large part of the center is its food pantry, coordinated by Lisa Glassey.
"We usually end up helping 10 to 15 families a week to make sure that they're able to have food on the table for their kids," Glassey said.
She added that the atmosphere of the space has helped break down barriers that might prevent students from asking for help.
"We've been able to kind of remove that stigma," Glassey said.
The pantry shelves are filled entirely by donations. Students like senior Tytan Ott contribute as volunteers.
“We realize that people can come from different backgrounds and they might need a little bit extra help, and so we are accepting of that. And this is a way we can help those people," he said.
About 700 students — roughly a third of the student body — accessed the center in some way last year. Glassey said the resources available continue to grow more vital each year.
"If food is a barrier for their education, we want to make sure to remove that, so that they can be able to be have what they need at home and then come to school and learn and graduate and go do awesome things," Glassey said.
Tina Murray from Smith's joined FOX13 to honor the Teen Connection Center and Pantry for their work fighting food insecurity. She awarded the facility $1000 to buy items needed to stock the shelves of the pantry.
Most middle and high schools in the Davis School District have a resource similar to Layton High School’s Teen Connection Center. All rely on donations. Those interested in helping can reach out directly to their school.
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