Middletown highlights school food pantry and multilingual‑learner work as partners step up after benefit disruptions

Megan Meinzer, Middletown’s director of family and community engagement, updated the School Committee on Nov. 20 about the Island Oasis school‑based pantry and district efforts to support multilingual learners.

"The Island Oasis was established in, 2023," Meinzer said, describing a school‑based pantry at Middletown High School where families can shop once a week. She reported that partners including the Martin Luther King Center, the Rotary Club and the Salvation Army help stock the pantry and that "we have provided 81,732 meals so far" through those efforts.

Meinzer outlined how student government and all district schools contribute food and how the MLK center consolidates donations and distributes them back to families. She described additional community support — coat drives, bike donations and holiday gift partnerships — and said the pantry serves roughly 16–17 families per week and about 65 unique families per month.

On language access, Meinzer described a multilingual learner initiative funded by the Van Buren Charitable Foundation focused on students, community and systems change. She said the district partnered with RIPIN (Rhode Island Parent Information Network) to run workshops in Spanish and Portuguese and that about 113 educators have completed the multilingual‑learner endorsement program to build staff capacity.

Committee members raised outreach and donation‑awareness opportunities; one member asked that donation needs (toys for the MLK holiday effort) be promoted in the district newsletter and town channels. Meinzer and administration said they coordinate with the town so community members without school ties can access and donate to the MLK center.

Next steps: the district encouraged community toy and food donations for the holidays and said it will continue multilingual learner supports and professional development.