Schuylerville students donate to community food pantry

Student donates foodSchuylerville Central School District students in all three school buildings are working together to help make sure no one in the community goes hungry this holiday season. On Monday, Dec. 10 the entire kindergarten class walked to the Schuylerville Area Food and Emergency Relief to donate hundreds of food items they collected from the elementary student body.

“It has become a wonderful tradition for the kindergarten class each year,” said kindergarten teacher Mary Beth Moran. “The students get to learn about compassion, while helping out members of our community.”

After making their donation, kindergarten students toured the SAFER facility and learned that it’s up to volunteers and generous donations to keep the food pantry up and running for those in need.

“We are lucky to live in such a caring community,” said Maureen Rossley, SAFER Board member. “The support of the district and its students and teachers have helped us keep our shelves stocked and ready for those who have fallen on hard times.”

The kindergarten donation was just the latest contribution from students in the district. In October, sixth grade students in Kelly MacNaughton’s English class held a contest to see which English class could collect the most items. They donated over 100 food items to SAFER .

“We had been reading the book “Wonder” and trying to incorporate kindness and compassion into our school day and school environment,” MacNaughton said. “I thought donating to the food pantry would be a positive way for my students to participate in doing something nice for others.”

The middle school Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club and Chad Jorgensen’s high school Life Skills class also made donations this school year.

SAFER’S SERVICES

The food pantry is located at 12 Spring Street and is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Fridays for use by residents of the Schuylerville Central School District. SAFER also accepts food and monetary donations during those hours. For more information, call the pantry at (518) 507-6043.

SAFER partners with Schuylerville Elementary School on the Backpack Program, a confidential program spearheaded by elementary school counselor Cassandra Luthringer, that helps ensure students do not go hungry over the weekend. If your family is in need of assistance, or you know a family who would benefit from the backpack program, contact Cassandra Luthringer, (518) 695-3255 ext. 1142.