SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville’s first graders challenged their peers to collect 600 non-perishable food items by the 100th day of this school year. With roughly 500 elementary school students, teachers agreed the goal was an attainable one, but they were surprised to end up with a mound of food stacked almost 1,300 items high.
Initially the food was meant simply to benefit a Backpack Program run by two high school students, Elijah Morris and Jordan VanAlthuis, which disseminates the donated food among children in need. Because of the large quantity of donated food this year, after a portion has be taken out for the Backpack Program, the rest will be handed over to local food pantries.
The elementary school’s food drive kicked off in early January, on day 85 of the school year, when elementary students brought home fliers asking for donations, meaning the children were only stockpiling their donations for 15 days before they had accumulated 1,300 items.
Last year, only the first graders participated in the food drive and teachers set a goal of 100 non-perishables.
“When the kids brought in 300 instead, we knew we had a lot of kind-hearted kids and that we had to take it farther,” said elementary school teacher and food drive organizer Kimberly Burkhart. “This year we charted each class’ progress on a bulletin board across from the office and when one of the classes would pull out in front, the others would respond in turn with a spike in their own donations. It became a healthy competition for the kids,” she laughed.
Many of the elementary teachers were proud to see how excited the kids were to participate in the food drive and how much they enjoyed watching the pile of non-perishables mount up as a result of their contributions.
“It makes my heart flutter to see all of the food in the carts,” said elementary school teacher and organizer Sara Parsons. “The kids have been talking about it nonstop and they are really excited.”
The S-E Backpack Program, which was started up a few years ago by a high school student, makes an annual food collection. The donations are placed in backpacks donated by individuals, businesses, and organizations, to be sent home with elementary students in need of supplemental food on weekends.
“The elementary students who brought in food, knew their donations would be going to their fellow classmates,” said school psychiatrist MaryJo Rose, who helps the high schoolers organize the Backpack Program. “The donations were just tremendous this year,” she said with a measure of awe.