Texas High School Has Opened a Student-Run Grocery Store for Families in Need

Students at Linda Tutt High School can now pick up necessities without leaving campus. As CNN reports, the Sanger, Texas, high school has set up a student-run grocery store that accepts points as payment.

Of the 2750 students in the small-town school district, 43 percent are from low-income households and 3.6 percent are unhoused. Linda Tutt High established the grocery store in November to ensure all students have the items they need for the holiday season and beyond. Student volunteers are responsible for stocking the shelves, managing the inventory, and helping their peers find what they're looking for.

Every child enrolled in the district starts out with a certain number of points based on how many people are in their family. At the grocery store, points can be exchanged for goods like meat, toilet paper, and pantry items. Kids can go beyond their initial point allotment by doing good deeds at school. Mentoring younger students, helping out in the library, and performing well in class can all earn students good deed points from teachers and staff.

The school store is a collaboration between Linda Tutt, Refuge Ministries, Texas Health Resources, and Albertsons grocery store. It's open to students and staff Mondays through Wednesdays. For one hour on Tuesdays, it's open to other members of the community.

Linda Tutt isn't the only high school to provide resources to students in a creative way. At Washington High School in North Carolina, students could access their on-campus food pantry anonymously.