BATH

At 2 p.m. today, the Bath Mobile Food Truck will pull into the parking lot of Grace Episcopal Church on Washington Street to deliver $8,000 worth of food to local residents.

The act of goodwill was made possible by Jobs for Maine’s Graduates students at Morse High School, using only $1,000.

Last winter, students in the Jump-start Our Youth program, part of Jobs for Maine’s Graduates, were given $1,000 to award to local nonprofits of their choosing.

JMG students at Morse elected to give two $500 awards. Then they heard a presentation by Kimberly Gates, the operator of the Bath Mobile Food Truck, and realized that $500 was not enough.

One $8,000 truckload of food from the Good Shepherd Food Bank costs $1,000, they learned, and they wanted to fund the entire load.

They quickly went to work planning a bake sale. They also partnered with the residents of the Washington House, whom they regularly visited, and decided to allocate money they raised from a fundraiser in process to the food truck.

Nearing their goal of an additional $500, the students made a presentation to the Sunrise Rotary which yielded the remaining $75. Then the treasurer surprised Maria Morris, the JMG specialist at Morse and JMG student Tiffany Guthro, with a check.

On May 22, JMG students and Washington House residents proudly presented Gates with two $500 checks at a special ceremony.

During today’s delivery, Morse students will be on hand to assist and to spread the “JOY” of giving.

JMG provides 4,500 students a year with the skills and experience they will need to succeed in high school, postsecondary education and careers, the group says.

JOY is a joint project among JMG, the Unity Foundation, Maine Community Foundation and Unitel. The goal is to teach students about philanthropy and the grant process.