In cooperation with the MVRSD social workers and custodial staff, Mascoma High’s Student Athletic Leadership Training team, or SALT, has been taking an active role in the Friends of Mascoma Foundation’s efforts to relieve food security pressure during the pandemic.

Through FOM’s Friends Feeding Friends initiative, the SALT team assembled boxes of food for a pantry shared by the Mascoma Valley Regional High School and Indian River Middle School. Mascoma volleyball coach Eric Ramage, who is also a school counselor and the SALT team’s faculty adviser, said the goal is to have at least one student on every Mascoma team in every grade working on the project for the purposes of leadership development and promoting core values. “We hope to reach about 60 families; it’s a big team effort,” Ramage said of the initiative. “Our custodial staff􀄱 is integral to getting this organized for the students. The social workers in the two (school) buildings connect to what families the food goes to and they do the distribution.”

Ramage said that a couple of members of the girls basketball team were due to help out as well. The 10 SALT members, all athletes, have also invited 􀄮friends 􀄮om other school communities, such as drama, to assist.

FOM executive director Eula Lee Kozma said having students help out educates them on the district’s food security issues and teaches them the importance of helping others in their community.

Members of the Mascoma High boys basketball team stand with food boxes assembled through the school's Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) for distribution to area families.