Cockeysville MS collects for food bank's 'Harvest'

Students at Cockeysville Middle School collected enough food in recent weeks to stuff a bus -- literally.

In front of the school on Nov. 5, students loaded a school bus with items donated from faculty, students and community residents. It was a steady stream of pasta, canned goods, boxed mixes and other nonperishable items; all part of the school's annual participation in the Maryland Food Bank's Kids Helping Kids food drive program.

"For about 15 years, we've been the top collecting school in the county schools," said school principal Deborah Magness.

One year, the school collected about 20,000 pounds of food for the drive, Magness said.

"It was ridiculous," she said.

This year, the weight of the food is less, but could still be measured in tons.

"I know right now we're about 8,000 pounds," said Russ LeBlanc, a physical education teacher.

LeBlanc is in charge of the food collection program, and his mid-morning estimate last Thursday proved to be pretty close. By day's end, the school had 8,015 pounds of food. At a school with an enrollment of about 850 students, that's a little more than nine pounds per student, though the public was invited to donate as well.

With a school bus decorated with brightly colored banners parked in front of the school, it was difficult for students not to become excited about the drive.

The bus was used to draw attention -- a truck from the Maryland Food Bank will actually come and pick up the food -- but the boxes of food piling up in the school's auditorium were too many to fit on the bus anyway.

Cockeysville resident Brittany Beahm, 11, a seventh-grader at the school, said she was happy to get out of Spanish class to help load the bus.

"Yeah, woo!" she said.

But Beahm was also happy to help feed the hungry.

"I brought two cans of soup," Beahm noted.

On Nov. 5, the final day for donations, students were allowed to miss a little bit of first period to gather and weigh food as it was dropped off. Throughout the day, students took shifts out front to continue accepting donations.

LeBlanc said granting permission for students to miss a bit of class to help with the drive showed them the importance of helping others.

"They're seeing the administrators and the faculty giving back a priority, even if the schedule gets altered a little bit," he said.

In fact, the food drive offered students a variety of lessons, Magness said.

"It motivates the kids to work together for a common goal," she said.

Part of that motivation came from a competition among home rooms. LeBlanc said the home room that collected the most food in each grade will be rewarded with a class period of games, activities, snacks and music.

"Every single home room has brought in food," LeBlanc said.

He sees more in students' motivation than competition, though.

"They really do take pride in their giving, which is a good thing to see," he said.

Chloe Messier, 12, a seventh-grader, said helping with the food drive wasn't just about getting out of class.

"I feel bad for people who don't have as much food, and you see that you have more in your pantry," said the Cockeysville resident.

Gaby Toombs, a 13-year-old Phoenix resident and eighth-grader, said she gets a good feeling from helping the hungry.

"It makes me feel good because the people that we're donating to are less fortunate and don't have as much food as we do," Toombs said.

Wendy Hernandez, a Cockeysville resident and seventh-grader, agreed.

"We're doing something nice for the community," she said.

That "something nice" is making a difference, according to Audra Harrison, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Food Bank.

"Since Harvest for the Hungry began 23 years ago, 29.1 million pounds (of food) have been collected," she said.

The Kids Helping Kids drive is part of Harvest for the Hungry, and it makes a big dent in hungry stomachs.

"During last year's Kids Helping Kids campaign, students raised 413,129 pounds of food and $56,557.09 for feeding programs statewide," Harrison said.

Allyssa Engelman, a 12-year-old Cockeysville resident and seventh-grader at Cockeysville Middle, appreciates the importance of a full stomach. Her class didn't win the competition, but her teacher told students she'd reward them anyway.

"Since we participated and we all brought in food, we get a pizza party," Engelman said.

Hungry for more

Cockeysville Middle School, 10401 Greenside Drive, will continue accepting nonperishable food donations until the Maryland Food Bank comes to pick them up Friday, Nov. 14. For details, call the school at 410-887-7626.

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