Community Outreach Services Director Mark Jago accepts food drive donations from a Mildred L. Day student. Contributed / Matthew Shinberg
Mildred. L. Day School students in Arundel collected more than 1,500 nonperishable food items during the school’s 18th annual “Give from the Heart” food drive benefiting the Community Outreach Services food pantry.
The students demonstrated their commitment to fighting food insecurity in the community, presenting the food to Community Outreach Services at a Feb. 14 assembly.
Beginning on Jan. 13, the five-week food drive engaged students from kindergarten through fifth grade in collecting items. Community Outreach Services serves families in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel.
Each classroom aimed to collect 100 items, and one classroom specifically collected pet food to support families with animals.
The food drive helped students learn that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference in their community, Mildred L. Day School Principal Gail Keith said.
“Watching our fifth graders take leadership roles in organizing and managing this drive shows how this initiative not only helps our neighbors, but also builds important life skills,” Keith said.
The need for food assistance in the district is continuously growing, Community Outreach Services Director Mark Jago said. The rising costs of living puts a strain on many families.
About 238 shoppers visit the pantry on a monthly basis, Jago said. In a year, the pantry could serve up to 800 local families.
“Young people are not always aware of the food insecurities and challenges that low-income families are faced with in the area they live,” Jago said. “Their involvement with a food drive is an easy on-ramp for them to become more aware of needs that exist right here in their own community.”
Jago spoke at the Feb. 14 assembly, sharing stories of actual people that the organization has helped so the students could make the connection between the food drive and the people they are helping.
Having food drives like this one is important for Community Outreach Services because it relies on donations to support local families. Food drives provide the items the organization needs most and has the hardest time keeping on the shelves.
“These food drives done on a large scale due to the volume of participants offer us the greatest return,” Jago said. “They allow us to reduce the cost of purchased items and allow us to fund our other programs as well.”
Sea Road School also participates in food drives for the community. Community Outreach Services makes it as convenient and easy as possible for schools to hold food drives, including providing nylon bags for collection.
Food drives like this do not just benefit those visiting the food pantry, but they benefit the students as well, Jago said.
“Having the students engaged in this brings the experience to a personal level,” Jago said.
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