During winter, the cold weather forces many people to choose between heating or feeding their family.

“Fortunately, many food drives help families be able to have both food and warmth,” states a release issued by the Mt. Ararat High School Interact Club. “However, when winter is slowly fading away, the cold weather still remains,” and continues to present families with the difficult decision of spending limited resources on either food or warmth.

This is why the Interact Club will hold its seventh annual “Cram the Van” event to benefit the local food pantry on March 31 in the Hannaford supermarket parking lot in Topsham.

“This issue was seen by Mt. Ararat High School’s former assistant principal, Britt Wolfe,” who brought it to Interact Club’s adviser Deborah Ludwig, “and after cooperation and organization, the first Cram the Van food drive began in 2005,” to benefit the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP).

Four years later, Mt. Ararat’s National Honor Society (NHS) adviser Allen Graffam helped raise more food and donations for MCHPP, by promoting Cram the Van during the National Honor Society’s annual variety show, and has given many of the proceeds from the ticket and bake sales to benefit MCHPP.

This year the variety show will be held the day before Cram the Van, due to scheduling conflicts.

As has been the case in recent years, Mt. Ararat High School and Brunswick High School student will compete to see which school group can collect the most donations.

Interact Club members at Mt. Ararat believe “the satisfaction of not only beating a rival school,” but also winning the honor of throwing pie in the faces of their top two students will motivate Mt. Ararat students to participate in the rivalry-for-a-goodcause against Brunswick High School.

The good sport rivalry was born after Rick Wilson, Brunswick’s NHS adviser, contacted Graffam in 2009 about turning the food drive into a competition. That year the amount of canned food donations from Mt. Ararat nearly doubled.

Although Mt. Ararat has never lost this competition as this year’s students are aware, Graffam affirms that “Mid Coast Hunger is the real winner.”

Individuals interested in helping Mt. Ararat students with their annual Cram the Van can come to the Hannaford supermarket in the Topsham Fair Mall any time March 31, to donate cash or nonperishable food.

Collection bins will be placed in School Administrative District 75 schools to collect donations for the Mt. Ararat drive.

Another option is to attend the NHS-sponsored variety show March 30 or March 31 at 7 p.m. at Mt. Ararat High School. Tickets cost $6 (with $1 as a donation to Cram the Van), or $5 and one canned good.

Donations by check can be made payable to the Mt. Ararat Interact Club, and mailed to Interact Club, care of Deb Ludwig MTA, 73 Eagles Way, Topsham, ME, 04086.