Port Jefferson Students Help Supply Food To Local Families

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — Second graders at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School helped give back this Thanksgiving season. The school held its annual food drive and filled boxes with nonperishable foods, as well as toiletries, for local families in need.

Under the leadership of elementary guidance counselor Jessica Peterson, the school community once again showed its generosity in aiding others with dozens of boxes of food collected that will help families enjoy a nutritious Thanksgiving meal.

Eight second grade students – Jessica Curley, Thomas Donohue, Brier Fox, Ruby Minatta, Lucas Peterson, Vincent Pryor, Andrew Weinisch and Madeline Zoudov – used their organizational skills and sheer desire to help families in the community by sorting boxes of items for each family.

At Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, a "Stuff-A-Locker" initiative was launched and has faculty, staff, administration, art students and all the high school clubs involved in working to fill the unused first floor lockers with nonperishable food and monetary donations.

"It is important for students, staff and the community to recognize the importance and need for staying connected during this time," Principal Eric Haruthunian said in a news release. "Our high school is unifying our food drive efforts in order to help the community."

Once a certain number of lockers are filled, the food in them is delivered, and student-artists create a mural to cover those lockers. The final art piece will be revealed in full once all of the lockers are stuffed.

The International Club helped kick off the campaign by collecting dozens of non-perishable foods, stuffing and bread mixes, vegetables, juices and frozen turkeys that filled up the first five lockers. Club advisers Jennifer Walling, who teaches English as a second language, and social worker Kristin Britt delivered the bountiful baskets to local families just in time for a nutritious Thanksgiving holiday meal.