Several South Lakes High students were invited to the Best of Reston Gala for their work with the school’s Food Pantry, a 2018 Best of Reston honoree. Marketing students Yumna and Chloe and their teacher Darlena Ricks, as well as Work Awareness Training students Mohammed and Christina and their teacher Ruth Rocci attended the gala along with numerous parent volunteers who run the pantry, South Lakes principal Kim Retzer, and other South Lakes teachers and staff.

The Marketing department was approached at the beginning of the school year to help with getting the word out about this valuable in-house resource.  With the aid of their teacher, the students developed a guerilla marketing campaign, getting all of the Marketing and DECA students involved, to increase student awareness and usage of the pantry through social media, morning announcements, and flyers distributed in school and the community.  The group’s signature footprints leading to the food pantry continues to be a hit among students and staff. WAT students were honored for their tireless work stocking and organizing the pantry shelves