Bay County school is the first to receive refrigerated food locker
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Parker Elementary School is the first school in Bay County to receive a refrigerated food locker. Eight compartments inside the refrigerator offer convenient access to Parker Elementary School families.
'Over 80% of our kids need help with food. There's a lot of food in food insecurity, not just here at Parker, but around the community. We serve them, you know, giving them food bags each week. Now we have this amazing locker that parents can come up when they get off work,' Parker Elementary Principal Jo Beth Davis said.
Construction of Bay County Jail rehab facility is underway
Each compartment within the refrigerator holds up to a week's worth of food for one family.
'We try to create access and sometimes parents or families just can't get here during normal business hours so having a food locker that's 24 hours a day just opens up that asset access a bit more. So if you have a family that can't get to a food source until after work hours or late in the evening, then the food locker will provide that,' Executive Director of Rebuild Bay County Donna Pilson said.
The convenience of this locker will provide families with easy access to food, helping to alleviate some of the challenges of food insecurity. The best way to get in contact for this food locker is through Facebook.
School officials will post a QR code on Facebook. Parents can scan it to access the e-registration form. Then the school contacts the parents.
Parents will then receive an email with a QR code to pick up their food.
Stir up some fun this weekend in Mexico Beach
'I have the email and I can do the pick-up process. So when a parent or a community member wants to use a locker, once they get the QR code, they would just come up to this machine and then slide across here. And then it'll ask for either a pin or the barcode and it comes to them and an email and they can easily take the QR code and just scan it right here,' Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Jordan Davis said.
The food comes from community donations.
'On campus, we have what we call it, our SHIP room, which stands for Sharing Hope In Partnership. That's exactly what we're doing. So we have an expanded food locker. We have freezers donated by a community partner, and we have food that's donated by community partners. Everything is sustained by community partners,' Director of North West Partnership Schools Sharis Robinson said.
Robinson says this is not a handout, but a hand-up. The main goal for this refrigerated locker is to lead families to sustain themselves. Rebuild Bay County hopes to add more refrigerated lockers at other locations.
Rutherford and A.D. Harris Learning Village are under consideration.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip early Monday. Gaza's Health Ministry said six people were killed. The gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them, witnesses said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel recently acknowledged supporting local armed groups opposed to Hamas. The latest in a string of shootings It was the latest in a number of shootings that have killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds since the rollout of a new food distribution system, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel and the United States say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the U.N. and major aid groups. Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents 'a great danger.' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds,' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shots fired from the 'dangerous zone' Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Hussein Shamimi, who was also in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed. 'There was an ambush … the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,' he said. Mohamed Kabaga, a Palestinian displaced from northern Gaza, said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organize them. 'They fired at us directly,' he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Younis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4x4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. "We didn't receive anything,' he said. 'They shot us.' Nasser Hospital said several men had been shot in the upper body, including some in the head. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, said six people were killed and more than 99 wounded, some of them at another GHF center in central Gaza. A new aid system marred by controversy and violence Israel has demanded GHF replace the U.N.-run system that has distributed food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians since the war began. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund militant activities, but U.N. officials say there is no evidence of any systematic diversion. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the GHF system. It says the mechanism is incapable of meeting Gaza's huge demands and that it is being used for Israel's military purposes, including its goal to move Gaza's entire population of more than 2 million people to the south of the territory around the food centers. Throughout the war, the U.N.-led network has delivered supplies at hundreds of distribution points around Gaza, meaning large crowds haven't had to trek for hours past Israeli troops to receive aid. Israel sealed off Gaza from all food, medicine and fuel at the beginning of March, shortly before it ended a ceasefire with Hamas. It began allowing small amounts of aid in last month, but U.N. agencies say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting. The 20-month war rages on The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced some 90% of the population and left the territory almost completely reliant on international aid. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
The Hill
41 minutes ago
- The Hill
Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip early Monday. Gaza's Health Ministry said six people were killed. The gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them, witnesses said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel recently acknowledged supporting local armed groups opposed to Hamas. It was the latest in a number of shootings that have killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds since the rollout of a new food distribution system, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel and the United States say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the U.N. and major aid groups. Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents 'a great danger.' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds,' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Hussein Shamimi, who was also in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed. 'There was an ambush … the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,' he said. Mohamed Kabaga, a Palestinian displaced from northern Gaza, said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organize them. 'They fired at us directly,' he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Younis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4×4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. 'We didn't receive anything,' he said. 'They shot us.' Nasser Hospital said several men had been shot in the upper body, including some in the head. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department, said six people were killed and more than 99 wounded, some of them at another GHF center in central Gaza. Israel has demanded GHF replace the U.N.-run system that has distributed food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians since the war began. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund militant activities, but U.N. officials say there is no evidence of any systematic diversion. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the GHF system. It says the mechanism is incapable of meeting Gaza's huge demands and that it is being used for Israel's military purposes, including its goal to move Gaza's entire population of more than 2 million people to the south of the territory around the food centers. Throughout the war, the U.N.-led network has delivered supplies at hundreds of distribution points around Gaza, meaning large crowds haven't had to trek for hours past Israeli troops to receive aid. Israel sealed off Gaza from all food, medicine and fuel at the beginning of March, shortly before it ended a ceasefire with Hamas. It began allowing small amounts of aid in last month, but U.N. agencies say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced some 90% of the population and left the territory almost completely reliant on international aid. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hoax 'Hajj plane crash' claims spread online
"Heartbreaking to hear the news of a plane carrying pilgrims from Mauritania crashing off the coast of the Red Sea while travelling to the holy site. Reports say more than 200 pilgrims died on board," reads a Thai-language Facebook post on May 28, 2025. It includes a minute-long shaky video of a dark plane cabin with audio of prayers from distressed passengers. "Mauritanian hajj pilgrims plane crash on the shores of the Red Sea, on the way to the holy city of Mecca, more than 210 Hajj pilgrims were martyred in the plane crash," reads another post on Instagram on the same day, written in Indonesian and sharing an image of a destroyed aircraft. Similar posts also appeared elsewhere on Facebook and spread in English and Hindi as more than 1.5 million pilgrims joined Islam's most important rite (archived link). But Mauritania Airlines rejected claims of an aviation disaster in a statement posted on Facebook on May 27, 2025 (archived link). "Some foreign social media pages circulated malicious rumours about the crash of a plane carrying Mauritanian pilgrims off the Red Sea, which is baseless news," it reads in part. It adds all Mauritanian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia arrived safely. A reverse image search of keyframes from the circulating video found it earlier posted on Instagram on October 29, 2018. AFP previously debunked posts that have misused the clip. David Ditama -- the owner of the Instagram account -- wrote that he had uploaded the footage after the crash of Lion Air flight JT 610 on the day because he wanted to share his traumatic experience from a year earlier (archived link). He told AFP the video was taken on December 11, 2017 during Lion Air flight JT 353 from Padang, in West Sumatra province, to Jakarta. The flight experienced heavy turbulence and engine shutdowns, but landed safely. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a former spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster agency, said on X on the same day that the clip shows turbulence on flight JT 353 (archived link). "All passengers were safe," the post says. Meanwhile, the image of a destroyed aircraft also shows visual errors that indicate it has been created using AI. These include the uneven size of the passenger windows and people standing near the aircraft appear to be distorted, limbless and headless. Despite the rapid progress of generative AI, errors still appear in AI-generated content. These flaws are often the clearest signs of a fabricated image. AFP has previously debunked another post falsely claiming a Mauritanian plane carrying Muslim pilgrims had crashed.
