Chelmsford's McCarthy Middle School Begins Project 300 Food Drive

CHELMSFORD, MA — McCarthy Middle School in Chelmsford has launched the 46th year of its Project 300 food drive, believed to be the largest school food drive in the state.

The pre-Thanksgiving food drive will run from Monday, Nov. 8 through Monday, Nov. 15 with the goal of collecting 32,000 nonperishable food items, said coordinator and eighth grade math educator Tom Gallagher.

“Last year was special, surpassing our goal of 15,000 items with 16,691, considering the circumstances,” said Gallagher in a statement. “This year we are backed to a masked normal, hence our goal of surpassing 32,000 items.”

“For an entire week, our school will be transformed into a donation warehouse for nonperishable food items,” he continued. “It will be awesome to see us collecting donations in person again.”

Along with the call for nonperishable donations, the fooddrive will include a poster contest and t-shirt design contest, grade vs. grade competition, and top student and top classroom donations. In addition, The Brickhouse Dine and Donate is slated for Nov. 15 at both The Brickhouse Center Grill at 1 Central Square and Brickhouse Pizza at 67 Middlesex Street.

Donation drop-off points will be located in the McCarthy Middle School lobby and the small gymnasium. At the conclusion of the food drive, donations will be turned over directly to the Salvation Army of Lowell, which will help those around the Merrimack Valley who need food assistance.

For more information about the 2021 Project 300 food drive, email Gallagher at gallaghert@chelmsford.k12.ma.us.