Page County Public Schools recognized for Porch Visit Program

LURAY, Va. (WHSV) - Page County Public Schools was one of six school divisions recognized at the Virginia School Boards Association’s Summer Conference on Education for its Porch Visit Program.

The competition is designed to educate, engage and empower school leaders to address childhood hunger and provide all students in Virginia with healthier, more nutritious school meals, the school division said in a press release.

The PCPS Porch Visit Program is a partnership with the Page Alliance for Community Action (PACA) and Healthy Families of Page County and utilizes grant funding through Share Our Strength to provide food, supplies and a variety of other resources to a family in need.

Over 80 families have been served since the start of the program in January 2021, providing over 13,500 meals and 2,500 boxes of donated food from organizations such as Page One and the Blue Ridge Food Bank, school officials said.

Porch Visitors make weekly visits to families, and in addition to providing food, they assist with helping families in acquiring necessary resources. This might include such things as accessing WIFI, helping file tax paperwork, tutoring students, providing diapers or connecting with community resources to help with housing or utility assistance.

For more on the program, you can check out this YouTube video.

The program will be recognized at an upcoming school board meeting.