And the call for items for a food program to feed hungry students at Loranger Memorial School was no exception.
Loranger Memorial School, serving local students in grades three through eight, has a program which provides food on weekends and school breaks for up to 20 students. Through the Backpack Program, students who are identified as not having sufficient access to food are given a backpack full of non-perishable food to take home.
The program has sustained itself through donations and food drives held by the school community.
Recently, the shelves in the program’s pantry were looking pretty bare, and the school was desperately in need of donations in order to continue providing food to those in need.
Social Studies teacher Nikki MacDonald talked to her sister, Sharri, president of local community group OOB365. Sharri got right on it, said Nikki, and quickly spread the word to the community about the need for food.
In about a week’s time, a truckload of items was collected. The food was dropped off to the school Friday and students in Rachel Presby’s functional living skills class promptly busied themselves with filling the pantry — they were eager to assist. The students also fill the backpacks that are sent home to recipients.
“I like to stack cans and these cans will be used by people who don’t have enough food,” said seventh-grader Ben Pendleton. He said that every single item he was putting on the shelf would help someone who was hungry.
Items that were shelved include microwavable cups of macaroni and cheese, canned ravioli, individual containers of apple sauce, juice, granola bars and peanut butter.
Items requested were “kid-friendly,” food that would appeal to children and needed little or no preparation, said Nikki MacDonald.
“This is amazing,” she said. “The Old Orchard Beach community is awesome.”
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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