Second grade students at Summer Street Elementary School recently hosted a food drive and collected 116 pounds worth of food for The Open Door and its food pantries across the region.
The Open Door food pantries serve 10 cities and towns in the northeast corner of Essex County and the Danvers and Lynn campuses of the North Shore Community College. The Summer Street food drive was spearheaded by parent Annmarie Hayes, and has been going on since the second graders were in kindergarten. This year, with the help of second grade teachers Elizabeth Kreder, Lisa Forrest, Debra Guenard, Deanna Scott, and Kristen Lorentzen, the donations were collected in each teacher’s classroom and picked up by the organization’s truck Friday afternoon.
The Open Door Director of Operations Jennifer Perry said that summer can especially be a time where families experience hunger.
“We’ve seen a 30% increase in requests for food assistance year over year so food drives like this are absolutely critical for bringing food in into our programs,” Perry said. “We really appreciate the community’s support.”
Summer Street Principal Karen Cronin commended Hayes for organizing the annual drive, and likes how the program happens at different times each year, highlighting the importance of hosting food drives not only during the holiday season.
“I love that it’s not just a food drive during Thanksgiving time because food insecurity happens all throughout the year, and often it’s when we’re not thinking about it during holiday times,” Cronin said. “It’s those other times during the year that it’s really necessary.”
Cronin also said that the drive is a great opportunity for the students to participate in community service.
“It’s great to give kids the opportunity to engage in civics, action projects and really see that they can do something to benefit other people in our community,” Cronin said.
