McCarthy Middle School Contributes 26K Non-Perishable Food Items

CHELMSFORD, MA — McCarthy Middle School announced that it collected and donated 26,000 non-perishable food items as part of its Project 300 Holiday Food Drive last month.

The weeklong drive took place between Nov. 7-14 and contributed items to the Salvation Army Lowell Corps and the Chelmsford Food Pantry for the holiday season. Now in its 47th year, Project 300 bills itself as the largest food drive by a school system in Massachusetts.

During the drive, homeroom classes compete to see which one can collect the most food. On Nov. 8, two local restaurants, Brickhouse Pizza and Brickhouse Center Grill, also donated a percentage of that day's sales to the cause.

This year, the drive was considered as critical as ever because of several factors currently making it difficult for many families to keep food on the table.

"There are many people still facing the impact of the pandemic, but now there is inflation and an increase in fuel and energy," said Timothy Ross, captain of the Salvation Army Lowell Corps.

Project 300 is run by McCarthy teachers Eric Sullivan, a world history teacher, and Thomas Gallagher, a math teacher. Sullivan called the amount of food raised "awe-inspiring."

"It's also very impressive when you watch the kids load the truck and how much food is going in there," Sullivan said.

Each year, Project 300's goal is to collect more non-perishable items than the year before. The drive fell a little short of that goal in 2022, after nearly 33,000 items were collected in 2021.

But Sullivan said the numbers may be down due to the same factors making the drive necessary in the first place.

"One of the reasons that the numbers are not as high as last year is because the dollar doesn't go as far as it did last year," Sullivan said. "In addition, people are having a more difficult time donating because of the increase in prices. People need to take care of their own families first. And if you don't get as much for a dollar, I think it's a little bit more difficult to support a fundraiser like Project 300."

Though the official Project 300 donation champions have yet to be announced, the district reported that one sixth-grade homeroom contributed a school-best 4,485 items, aided significantly by one student who collected 2,700 items.

"The sixth grade was probably the best grade in school. And the fifth grade stepped up as well," Sullivan said. "It is exciting for us to see that the newer students to this school went out and they collected for the less fortunate. And it's a good sign of what's to come. We're looking forward to the next couple of years with these younger leaders getting ready to take over Project 300."