Junior School and Senior School students team up to deliver food to Welcome Inn Emergency Food Pantry

Junior School and Senior School students team up to deliver food to Welcome Inn Emergency Food Pantry
For the past week, students in the Junior School have been collecting food for Welcome Inn Emergency Food Pantry on Wood Street, in Hamilton’s north end. The food drive was part of the Junior School’s theatrical production ‘Food For Thought’ presented this past Wednesday. The idea was to connect the children to the production’s ‘food theme’ through a tangible activity while helping others in their community. More than 356 pounds of food were donated prior to Wednesday and more was received during the two performances.

On Monday, March 9, eight Grade 11 and 12 students, accompanied by Mrs. Rogers, delivered the food donated by the Junior School students and volunteered for the day at the food bank. The students unloaded and sorted four skids of donated food breaking it down into manageable packages for distribution to food bank clients.

One tin of food was marked with a happy face by a student in Grade 4. This interesting idea was proposed by her sister in Senior School in hopes of making the point of donating food clearer to her younger sister and her classmates. The Senior School student followed the progress of the tin to its recipient, a mother with two young children ages 4 and 6 at home. 

“It was incredible to see these students transform spontaneously from average teenagers  into admirable, friendly, respectful young men and women whose greatest failing was the desire to work too hard without taking breaks”, said Mrs. Rogers.

“The Senior School students who came to Welcome Inn on Monday were amazing. They were so energetic and willing to help out.  It was amazing to see them relax and interact with our food bank clients throughout the course of the day”, said Kari Astles Manager, Office Administration and Volunteers.

The Emergency Food Pantry was established in 1991 to address the growing number of families experiencing hunger. Currently over 8,000 people access the service every year and 40% of those using the food pantry are children.