Building a community of caring

Everyone gets hungry. Sometimes we’re hungry because of a rushed morning or a long stretch between meals. Other times, hunger is a more persistent part of the day. Students Feeding Students was built for all of it, because every Huskie deserves the chance to refuel, refocus, and fully participate in the school day. This is what it looks like when a community decides to take care of its own.

What Is Students Feeding Students?

Students Feeding Students is a free snack program founded and run by students at OPRF and supported by OPRF High School Mutual Aid. Four snack cabinets are installed across campus, stocked multiple times a week with a selection of packaged snacks (including allergen-free options).

Every snack is free. Every student is welcome. No sign-up, no questions, no explanation needed.

This isn’t a charity program. It’s what a community of caring looks like in practice, built on the belief that nutrition is a prerequisite for learning, not a privilege.

Why This Matters

Hunger isn’t just uncomfortable - it’s a barrier to everything school asks students to do.

Research is clear: when students are hungry, their ability to focus, regulate emotions, engage in class, and connect with peers is significantly compromised. At OPRF High School, we estimate that as many as 45% of students experience chronic or periodic food insecurity, including many whose families earn too much to qualify for free and reduced lunch but still struggle to put food on the table consistently.

“It is extraordinarily difficult to focus on learning when you are hungry.”

Jennie Hull · Chief Executive Officer, Beyond Hunger
Crain’s Chicago Business · July 2026

Students Feeding Students addresses this by making nutrition universally available, no paperwork, no income verification, no stigma. When everyone can access the cabinets, no one has to identify themselves as someone who needs help. That’s what a true community of caring makes possible: support that reaches everyone, especially those who need it most, without anyone having to raise their hand.

How It Works

No sign-up. No process. Walk up to any cabinet, take what you need, and go.

Cabinets are stocked multiple times per week by a team of OPRF students and mutual aid board members, with support from OPRF’s Office of Equity and Student Success. Snacks are sourced through community donations, partnerships with local organizations including Beyond Hunger, and generous support from donors across the Oak Park and River Forest community.

Since early 2026, Students Feeding Students has been supported by more than 1,000 students, faculty, and staff who signed on in support - and by more than 80 community members who covered 100% of the program’s initial cabinet and installation costs. That’s a community of caring showing up in the most tangible way possible.

An Act of Community Building

Students Feeding Students is guided by the principles of universal design: resources are available to everyone, without the burden of disclosure. This isn’t just a logistical choice; it’s a values statement about what kind of community we want to be.

When a snack cabinet is available to every student, it stops being a signal of need and starts being a normal part of the school day. Caring for each other becomes unremarkable - just what Huskies do. That shift, from charity to community standard, is exactly what we’re building toward.

We believe that when students don’t have to spend energy managing hunger, they can spend it on everything else school has to offer. And we believe that every act of giving (stocking a cabinet, donating a box of granola bars, spreading the word) is an act of community building. This is how caring compounds.

“They identified a problem, researched it, engaged experts, developed and piloted a solution, collected data, responded to feedback, revised their proposal…”

Chris Thomas · Executive Director, YourPassion1st · Co-Chair, Alliance for Black Youth
Wednesday Journal · August 2026

Get Involved

Students Feeding Students runs on community support and every contribution, large or small, adds to something bigger than a snack cabinet. Here’s how you can be part of the community of caring we’re building at OPRF:

• Stock the cabinets: Students and community volunteers help restock cabinets throughout the week. Showing up to stock a shelf is one of the most direct ways to care for a fellow Husky.

• Donate snacks or funds: Monetary donations go directly toward purchasing snacks and maintaining the program. In-kind snack donations are also welcome — reach out to find out what we need most.

• Spread the word: Know a Huskie who doesn’t know about the cabinets? Tell them. A community of caring only works when everyone knows they’re part of it.

Students Feeding Students is a program of OPRF HS Mutual Aid, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Read More

To take on student hunger, Oak Park River Forest teens form a mutual aid group
Crain’s Chicago Business · July 2026
Read the article →

Food pantry and teens join in a mutual fight
Jennie Hull, Chief Executive Officer, Beyond Hunger · Crain’s Chicago Business · July 2026
Read the commentary →

Funding for feeding students
Caroline Nikolakakis, Oak Park educator and OPRF parent · Wednesday Journal · August 2026
Read the letter →

Students Feeding Students
Chris Thomas, Executive Director, YourPassion1st; Co-Chair, Alliance for Black Youth · Wednesday Journal · August 2026
Read the letter →

Snacks for students at OPRF
Gianluca Maccaferri · Wednesday Journal · June 2026
Read the commentary →