On Friday, Oct. 9, the students finished sorting through the items, throwing away the expired cans, before the boxes were picked up by Franklin High School students and delivered to the food pantry.
Sometimes, it seems, students in smaller districts can make a bigger impact in their communities. They have a tighter connection to their towns.
“These students are very compassionate,” said Jenni DeHart, a fifth- and sixth-grade reading teacher. “They’re very giving children.”
The children are products of very giving parents. For instance, one of the students, Layne Ferrell, a third-grader, said her father, Randy, owner of Riverview Packaging, donated the collection boxes.
Layne said it’s great to “help other people get food when they’re hungry.”
Lexi Freeze, a fifth-grader, who had her brother’s football jersey No. 31 painted on her face, said helping others makes her feel worthy.
“We’re taking stuff that we don’t need and giving it to people who need it,” she said.
Makes almost too much sense. No wonder, we sometimes ask, “Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?”
Not only did the food provide assistance for the city’s needy, but it also made some of their decision-making easier, said Robert Alexander, president of the pantry. Now, he said, instead of spending their last pennies on groceries, they can use that money to purchase prescriptions or pay utility bills.
“Without these donations, a lot the families we serve would have to do without,” he said. “It’s just that tight.”
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