Local Students Collect Food for Needy Families

by Lorrie Ham

Many families in the community were able to put food on their tables this spring because of kids in the Westonka School District.

Students in each school conducted fundraisers, created friendly competitions and hosted food drives recently—all to benefit the Westonka Food Shelf.

“Having the kids in our community help out like this means so much,” said Shelly Sir of the Westonka Food Shelf. “We have such a generous community, and to pass this ‘giving spirit’ down to the younger generation is amazing! Westonka should be so proud. We thank the district so much.”

At Mound Westonka High School, the eighth annual White Hawks Dodgeball Tournament and Charity Food Drive collected over $1,500 and hundreds of pounds of food for local families.

Grandview Student Council members rode with Mound police officers to deliver the results of their month-long food drive to the Westonka Food Shelf. Grandview donated 2,379 food items, totaling over 2,500 pounds, which students collected each morning during March.

The Hilltop Student Council has participated in National Food Share Month for the Westonka Food Shelf for over 25 years, and this year was one of their best efforts. Students collected over 2,000 pounds of food and $545 in cash donations.

Shirley Hills students collected 1,500 pounds of food throughout the month. Their video project, which was done to promote and teach students about the local food shelf, ran on local access television during March to educate the public about the importance of the food shelf.