Saugus students stepping up to help feed families

SAUGUS – The United Parish Food Pantry in Saugus is teaming up with the town?s four elementary schools to help put together Thanksgiving food baskets for needy families.The schools have been holding a canned food drive since last week, with each school collecting specific types of foods.The Lynnhurst Elementary School is collecting canned corn, the Oaklandvale Elementary School is collecting canned fruit, the Waybright Elementary School is collecting cranberry sauce and the Veterans Elementary School is collecting canned green beans and peas.Lynnhurst principal Lori Gallivan said the food drive will not only help families in need, but teach students responsibility.?The kids take care of it and are in charge of it,” said Gallivan. “It?s a great opportunity for the kids to take the lead.”Lynnhurst fifth-grade teacher Rhonda Bibeau said her students helped collect around 300 cans of corn last year, and this year she?s hoping to hit the 350 mark.?Everyone in the school donates,” said Bibeau. “The fifth-graders collect it, count it and box it. It?s a good lesson in responsibility. They have to go around to the various classrooms and collect the corn ? and they do this without supervision. They?re doing it independently.”Bibeau said the donations vary from day to day, with students bringing in cases of corn or just one or two cans. As a volunteer at her local food pantry in Wilmington, Bibeau said she?s seen firsthand the importance of food drives like this.?There are more and more families that need food and donations are harder to come by,” said Bibeau.Carol Cashman, who has been volunteering at the United Parish Food Pantry since 1989, said the poor economy has increased the demand for her services.The food pantry, which is located at the Cliftondale Congregational Church on Essex Street, had 120 sign-ups last year. So far this year, Cashman said she has 70 on the list, and she?s expecting that number to increase.?It didn?t start to increase until this summer,” said Cashman. “Around spring we started to get new people. It?s nice to get the children involved. It?s nice to help your neighbor.”Veterans School principal Kelly Moss said so far the response from his students has been “phenomenal.”?Our copier paper boxes are full,” said Moss. “Each year we get about 14 or 15 copy boxes full of green beans and peas. I?m afraid that if we did it for longer than three weeks we wouldn?t be able to get in the building with all the cans.”For Moss, this year?s food drive is just another example of Saugus students giving back to their community.?Our students have been taught to care about their community and to care about the less fortunate citizens that are in it,” said Moss. “It?s been instilled with them ever since they were in kindergarten. It?s a great community effort.”The food pantry is open on Fridays between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter