When Rocktown High School opened, one of the programs that carried over from Harrisonburg High School was the Good Food School Market, a monthly event that provides free groceries to students and their families.
Victoria Bice is a counselor at our school. She organizes the food markets and helps set them up.
The idea for the market started at HHS after one student asked a simple question about extra food at school. That moment initiated an effort to address food issues that eventually expanded to Rocktown.
“A student had asked if there was extra food at school, and it kind of grew from there,” Bice said.
With support from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Bice helped start the program at HHS in 2022 and then brought it to Rocktown when the new school opened. Since many Rocktown students came from HHS, continuing the market felt needed.
Bice said working with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank has been one of the best parts of the process. The organization supplies and delivers the food, while Rocktown staff and volunteers organize and distribute it to families.
“It truly feels like a partnership,” Bice said. “My team orders the food, and then they deliver it here, and we have volunteers that help set it up and prepare the day prior to the market.”
The last market served between 200 and 300 households, about 1,000 individuals in total. Students and families don’t need to sign up in advance, but they answer a few questions about household size and age ranges to help the food bank collect important funding data.
Running the market requires teamwork across the school. Bice works alongside Ms. Spilman, Rocktown’s mental health counselor, librarian Ms. Kaznosky, and Ms. McIntosh, with help from custodial staff and school administrators.
“It’s totally a team effort,” Bice said.
To keep the line moving quickly, the organizers have to limit the number of food choices. They focus on balance and variety, offering combinations that make full meals.
“So we pick six to seven items, and we try to pair things together,” Bice said. “So like peanut butter and jelly, rice and beans, noodles and pasta sauce, we try to have an item that a student could eat for breakfast, then we try to have some lunch things, and then some dinner thing.”
All of the food comes from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, including some local produce. The options vary depending on what’s available that month.
Sometimes, feedback from students influences the choices of food available. There are a couple of foods that tend to be the students’ favorites. Students like to tell Bice the things that they favor the most.
“Usually it’s like you should get that again, and it’s usually things like pineapples, mangoes, apple juice; we had ramen last year, and that was a big hit.” Bice said.
Bice reveals a secret that she likes to include in her emails she sends out.
“A little inside scoop is that I try to put emojis related to what we’re going to have in the reminder email the Friday before” Bice said.
The next Good Food School Market is on November 14th 2025, and there are many opportunities to attend after that. Beyond the food and groceries, the Good Food School Market is a place that students can feel excited about and safe in.
