11,200 Pounds Of Food Collected In Bremen Students' Drive

MIDLOTHIAN, IL — Bremen High School students collected more than 11,200 pounds of food in an annual door-to-door holiday drive for the area's food pantries that are serving an increasing number of hungry residents.

More than 130 National Honor Society, student council, swim-team and other students worked hundreds of hours to give 5,000 collection bags to residents to fill for the drive. The students, in partnership with Berkot’s Super Foods, brought the shopping bags to households to fill with shelf-stable food. They then went to each door to pick up the bags -- and made house calls later if the donor was not available on the original pick-up date.

The drive was so popular that donations continued to come in even after the Dec. 7 deadline. In all, a district spokeswoman said, more than 11,200 pounds of food were collected.

The food was donated to the food pantries at St. Christopher’s Church and St. Stephen’s Church in Midlothian. Both serve Midlothian as well as Markham, Posen and other areas where charitable food services are lacking.

“We are very gracious," said Sister Laurinda Hefel, who runs the St. Christopher food pantry, in a statement. "There’s a growing need more and more.”

Bremen started its first food drive in 1985.