Simmons Elementary School donates 10,000+ items to local food pantries

Fifth grade students at Simmons Elementary School facilitated a food drive that collected 10,311 items to help with food insecurity during the pandemic and support three local pantries. Items were delivered on March 3 and 4 to Lehman Church’s Food Pantry and St. John’s Food Pantry, both in Hatboro, and St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Horsham.

Inspired by the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, fifth grade students worked for weeks to plan, organize and collect items to help fight food insecurity. Each of the five weeks of the food drive centered on a specific category: cereal/oatmeal/PB&J, soup/pasta, canned vegetables and fruits, snacks and canned meats, and toiletries.

To help motivate collections, classes in preschool through fifth grade competed for a weekly incentive offered by the educators in the school. Winning classes were rewarded with games, a dog visit, PJ day and dance parties, outdoor fun or critter time.

“We are proud of all the hard work and determination our fifth grade students have shown to make our community a better place,” said Simmons Assistant Principal Bob Campman.