S t. John’s Catholic School students lined Union and Cedar streets Thursday morning, little hands ebbing and flowing in a continuous exchange of 550 pounds of cans, bags and jars of food all the way to the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program ‘s doors. Thursday’s food pass, the second of the academic year and a core service activity at St. John’s, was the culmination of a year-long food insecurity project led by the first grade class.

“I like that we get to help people who don’t get as much as we do,” said fifth grader Rachel Kerr. “People that aren’t as fortunate as us get to have more and we get to help them … Hopefully everyone in Brunswick now can have more and be lucky like we are.”

Students from all grades at St. John’s began collecting food to donate earlier this year. According to first grade teacher and organizer of the event Amanda Shorey, students donated 1,000 pounds of food earlier this year. All students at the school are introduced to the MCHPP in the first grade, when the class takes a tour of the facilities and spearheads the food pass program for that year.

“It goes along with our philosophy of helping others before ourselves,” said Shorey. “We’re always teaching our students about doing God’s work, and helping out those in need is a way to be passing on God’s words and we try to instill in them to think of others, and so when people are in need, this is one way we can help — by giving of ourselves for others.”

According to Karen Parker, executive director of MCHPP, food insecurity is a significant issue in Brunswick — one in 10 Brunswick residents visits the food pantry, and one in four children in Maine suffer from food insecurity.

Food demand doesn’t wind down in the summer, though the majority of donations to the MCHPP are in the months of November and December, and MCHPP organizes donation programs in the summer months as well. Their most recent food drive, the Postal Drive on May 13, garnered 6,000 pounds of food.

Though the amount gathered by students at St. John’s is just a fraction of that, Parker acknowledged that their contributions are not negligible and often leave a lasting impact in the community.

“It’s important that kids understand their connection with the community,” she said. “I think by doing this every year, it really makes that connection to their local community. There’s an awareness factor that it’s not someone somewhere else in a different state or a different country that has food insecurity, it’s their neighbors.”

“Many times we see children and their families coming back to volunteer, so it really starts that connection at a very young age with local families and opportunities for volunteering. It really lays a foundation,” she added.

In addition to the community service aspect, the food pass is also a source of enjoyment for the students of St. John’s, a reminder of the imminent summer break and of their community — one whose food insecurity doesn’t dwindle in the warmer months. Students oohed and aahed as they passed the food along, delighting in each item as it went down the line.

“Beans, beans, beans, more beans,” one student grinned.