Food Drive

Each September we kick off our works of mercy with a food drive to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank.  This year the food drive is especially dire with the recent closures of Stop and Shop and some Shaw's Supermarkets in the state.  Stop and Shop alone used to provide 500,000 pounds of food annually to the Food Bank.  The Food Bank distributed over 8 million pounds of food last year and with Shaw's and Stop and Shop unable to donate anymore they have lost about 1/8 of their food donations.  They provide food to over 400 agencies in the state, namely food pantries, soup kitchens, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. and are 100% dependent on donations, both of food and money to fund their operations.

Erin, the volunteer coordinator at the Food Bank, shows us the empty shelves

I took a group of 8 students (2 from each class) to the Food Bank today so they could get a sense of the work they do and understand who we are helping.  The shelves, as you can see in this picture that I took today, are pretty bare and they need our help more than ever.  I think the students were really struck by how desperate they are for food and are more inspired to help out.  Our goal is to raise 5,000 pounds of food between now and next Friday, Sept. 27.  The top three homerooms will receive prizes and if we break the 5,000 pound mark we will have a week of dress down days!

We would be so grateful if you could help us meet out goal.  You can send in the items listed below or maybe send a check and I will go buy food and add it to my total.  Thank you so much for your generosity.

Canned chicken
Canned tuna
Peanut butter
Jelly
Mac n cheese
Soup/stew/chili
Canned/dried beans
Canned nuts
Rice and rice mixes
Pasta
Noodle and noodle mixes