New free grocery store aims to help District 3 students who struggle with food insecurities

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)--Widefield School District 3 is opening a free grocery store for students in need. This comes during a time when more than half of the student population struggles with food insecurity. Starting on Monday, families and students from District 3 will be able to visit the grocery store and get all the help that they can. 

According to leaders from District 3, about 52 percent of the students in the district are registered for free or reduced lunch. Often times the meals those kids eat in school are the only meals they get during the day. This new grocery store will help ease that stress. How it will work is Widefield School District 3 will select 200 families each month who can access the store. These families will then make appointments to access the store.

"What we have noticed is that there are some families in the district that are actually homeless so those families will be prioritized to have access to the grocery store first," said Colleen Daywalt, with the Colorado Community Health Alliance (CCHA).

The new grocery wouldn't have been possible without the help and donations from CCHA.

The grocery store will be located inside the Security Public Library and will be open from Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.