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Last year, they filled an entire school bus.
This year, students and staff at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School in Cambridge, hope to collect enough food donations to circle the school's running track for its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.
The goal is to collect 4,000 food donations that will circle the entire track by Oct. 21.
“Every year, we ask the Food Bank, how did we do? And every year, they are just blown away by what we are able to do,” said Mark Frayne, a teacher at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School.
“I think part of that has to do with being in an area of the city that seems to have the means to give, and that’s great. But we also have students and staff at the school who continue to follow the tradition. They want to contribute to the food drive and try to make it bigger.”
Collection began on Tuesday and community donations will be accepted at the school until Oct. 21, at 355 Holiday Inn Drive.
“What the students and staff want to do this year, is to raise awareness by putting up some signs and banners at the front of the school for the community to see,” Frayne said.
“It’s a great way for the whole community to get involved and participate in our drive. Last year, about 10 - 20 per cent of the food that we collected, came from the community, on top of what was donated by students and staff.”
This year, Frayne said the school wants to expand its outreach for the food drive.
“Students have limited means, and some might be users of the Food Bank We are cognizant of that. But we thought if anyone in the community has the means to help out, and if they don’t have access to donate at a church or at another school, why not help contribute to our goals as well,” Frayne said.
Jacob Hespeler Secondary School runs the largest annual school Thanksgiving Food drive in Cambridge.
“We always try to make the food drive as good as the year before, if not, a little better. We always try to push the envelope in trying to create new ways of running the Food Drive,” Frayne said.
“Last year, we filled a school bus, almost to the top. We placed 100 boxes of food inside and filled every seat, piled high. So, this year, we decided to collect enough food to fill our track, with cans and boxes. We figure it will take about 4,000 items to do that.”
On Oct. 21, the plan is to take all food collected, and manually place each item on the track.
“We will take it all outside using trucks and whatever we will have at our disposal. We will put everything out on the track and try and make it all the way around,” Frayne said.
Afterwards, the Food Drive truck will arrive, and staff and students will help load food items as it travels around the track.
“We will film the event and we really hope to meet our goal. It will be a great visual, something that will capture the hearts and minds of our school community,” Frayne said.
Frayne said the school has come up with a variety of different ideas and contests over the years for their annual food drive and has even challenged other schools.
“Even our principal had to wear a Preston football jersey for a day because one year, we challenged Preston. We’ve tried everything, but this the first time we are trying something like this,” Frayne said.
Frayne said the school community is excited about hosting the food drive this year but understands that giving might be limited for some people with today’s escalating food prices.
“A box of cereal isn’t four or five dollars anymore. It’s more like eight or nine dollars. That might limit how much people can afford to give, and we understand that,” he said.
“We just hope people will give within their means, but we also know the other side of that, and that is that the need is greater than ever. People facing food insecurity are having to face those escalating prices too. So, we are doing our best this year, to try to bridge that gap and to support the Cambridge Food Bank, who we have such a great relationship with. They are so supportive of us, and we are of them.”
Dianne McLeod, executive director at the Cambridge Food Bank, said that Jacob Hespeler Secondary School always gets creative with their food drives, and this year, is no exception.
“What is really neat about Jacob Hespeler, is that they encourage the entire Hespeler community to get involved to help them meet their goal. Hespeler has always been exceptionally generous when it comes to supporting the Cambridge Food Bank and we are very grateful that they come through for us year after year,” McLeod said.
“We are very lucky to receive support for our food drives from many schools across Cambridge and North Dumfries. We rely heavily on food drive participants in order to keep our shelves stocked throughout the year. All food drives, big and small, help us ensure that no one in our community goes hungry.”
All non-perishable items are appreciated including canned and boxed food items such as cereals, peanut butter, and canned fruit and vegetables.
“Baby items such as diapers are always in demand. We’ve also asked for toiletries this year such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products,” Frayne said.
Frayne, who teaches Grade 11 Leadership at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School, said that he focuses on teaching students to be leaders not only in the school building, but outside and in the community.
“I pick events that can teach students how to run them, but that can also help make a difference. Students can gain experience and confidence in running events like this,” Frayne said.
“Hopefully it will help them run more events, without my help in the future, as they become leaders in their own lives.”
What will next year’s Jacob Hespeler Secondary School Thanksgiving Food Drive bring?
“One student asked if we could fill a transport truck. Next year will be another challenge and I can’t wait to see what that will be,” Frayne said.
“But for now, let’s do our best and hit our goal around the track.”
For more information, contact Mark Frayne at [email protected].
