A Dream Food Drive

Tuscan Elementary School of Maplewood hit a home run with the food drive it organized in mid-February. Here are four reasons why:

Fun Theme: Tuscan tied its food drive to the 100th day of school, issuing a challenge to each classroom to bring in 100 items, generating excitement and participation.

Focused Collection: Tuscan collected only the items most needed by the food pantries, helping to fulfill the pantries’ goal of providing healthy, nutritious food. Each grade was asked to bring in a different item: Kindergarten had peanut and nut butters; first grade had cereal; second grade had shelf-stable milk; third grade had canned meat and tuna; fourth grade had pasta and tomato sauce, and fifth grade had canned veggies and fruit.

Attention to Expiration Dates: Members of Tuscan’s Student Council, which includes students in the third through fifth grades, checked expiration dates on all the items before delivery. This saved the pantry volunteers hours of time during the shelving process!

Communication: Claire Sinclair, a Tuscan kindergarten teacher and the organizer of the food drive, communicated well in advance with the pantries receiving the food. The heads-up gave pantry managers plenty of time to brainstorm with Sinclair on the best way to run the drive, as well as to have volunteers on hand to take delivery of the items.

Sinclair gave credit to the “amazing” Tuscan community for collecting more than 1,600 items, which were distributed to St. Joseph’s in Maplewood and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange.