TOPSHAM

Mt. Ararat High School is cramming a van — well, a box truck — on Saturday.

First organized in 2005, Mt. Ararat’s Interact Club and National Honor Society conduct the annual food drive to collect non-perishable items for Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program.

This year the event will take place at Shaw’s, after more than a decade of operation at the Hannaford Supermarket in Topsham.

Interact Club Advisor Debbie Ludwig believes over the years the school has raised more than $40,000 and tons of food for MCHPP.

Ludwig said Hannaford had, for years, allowed students to stand near the store during the food drive and distribute flyers. One of the former managers would make frequent announcements in the store about the food drive.

Due to a corporate change in policy regarding soliciting, students would no longer be allowed to stand near the Hannaford store doors. While they would be allowed to set up in the parking lot, Ludwig said she didn’t want them moving around the parking lot for safety reasons.

In the move to Shaw’s, she said, the store managers have been generous and will allow students to stand in the doorway, talk to people and pass out lists of items needed by Mid Coast Hunger Prevention.

Students are also conducting a food drive within the school this week, with friendly competition between grade levels.

“It’s all for a good cause,” Ludwig said.

Mt. Ararat’s Cram the Van will be set up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shaw’s, located at 147 Bath Road in Brunswick.