To the editor:

It’s that time of year again!

The snow is melting, the syrup is running, and Brunswick and Mt. Ararat high schools are gearing up for one of their most contentious competitions of the year: Stuff the Bus!

For some years now, the Brunswick and Mt. Ararat chapters of the National Honor Society have competed with one another to see which school can raise the most money and collect the most food for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program.

The stakes are high, with the losing school not only having to endure the knowledge that they have lost to an age-old rival, but also the punishment of having their class salutatorian and valedictorian callously pied in the face.

Yet there is far more at stake than a school rivalry. Stuff the Bus is a fundraiser that fills a gaping need in the greater Brunswick community: the need for a good meal.

Right now in our country people are hurting. Jobs are hard to come by and, with increasing fuel costs, wallets are stretched thin, especially in a place like Maine in which heating is a large concern.

It is during hard times such as these that the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP) becomes not merely a helpful fallback, but a lifeline.

I have had the privilege to spend a significant amount of time at MCHPP. Volunteering in the food bank, pantry and soup kitchen, I have been amazed at the work that is done there.

Every day, hundreds of clients come in to eat lunch or pick up their family’s groceries and are greeted not simply with the food they require, but with compassion and a friendly face.

The directors and volunteers at MCHPP work tirelessly, and it shows. However, hard work is not enough. The food bank, pantry and soup kitchen require a continuous flow of food donations, not just those from Hannaford, Shaw’s and other supermarkets, but from the community at large.

Stuff the Bus is a wonderful opportunity for students in the area to get involved and help out. There are boxes set up at both high schools for donations of nonperishable food items. Monetary donations can be made as well, with checks made out to The Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program and sent to either Brunswick or Mt. Ararat High School, depending on which school you support.

Also, a school bus will be parked at Shaw’s in Brunswick from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, so that anyone wishing to make a donation can purchase items at Shaw’s and then deliver them directly to BHS students.

This is also the day we will be counting our donations, so now is the perfect time to give.

Thank you for your support and effort in making this fundraiser a success.

Madeline Schneider, president
BHS National Honor Society Brunswick

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