By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

After 100 days of school, students at Mildred L. Day School in Arundel are learning “100 Ways to Give from the Heart” – collecting non-perishable food items per classroom.

With 13 classrooms, that’s 1,300 food items that will be gathered and shipped to St. Martha’s Food Pantry in Kennebunk to help families struggling to put food on the table. 

General Assistance and Social Services Director Wendy Lank said the need for assistance has doubled in Arundel, with three to five requests a week compared to two or three requests a week a few months ago. 

“When the church puts together a basket, they put a good three days worth of food,” Lank said. “The kids are great. They all pull together to do wonderful things, and this food will serve a great deal of families.”

The kindergarten through fourth grade students understand donating food helps ease the strain on local families. 

“It’s important to help people and donate things,” Paige LeBlanc, 10, said. 

“We brought food in to give it to others who don’t have the money,” Lilly Shaw, 6, said. 

“It’s harder for the little kiddos to really get it, but last year when the older guys were loading up the truck at the end, they really saw how much food there was,” Special Education teacher Adrianna Pizzo said. 

Pizzo said teachers were hesitant to organize a month-long food drive this year, realizing every family is facing their own struggles with today’s economy.

“We felt like we were putting the burden on the parents, but it’s a difficult time and these people need it more than ever,” Pizzo said. “What we’ve gotten so far is overwhelming.”

With a five-week window to collect 100 items per classroom, each classroom picked an item to collect, including peanut butter, soup and cereal. Pizzo said items were selected based on shelf life and cost.

“We picked some items that are good for the pantry, but may be difficult to afford for some families,” Pizzo said. 

Classes that have already reached their goal are being asked to help other classes collect their food item. 

“They’re enthusiastic and eager to bring things in,” Fourth grade teacher Debbie Burrows said of the 100 percent participation from her students. “The community service is heartwarming.”

“We’re working together as a community of givers, and plan to help each other meet our goals as citizens of the larger community in which we live,” Pizzo said. 

The “100 Ways to Give from the Heart” campaign wraps up Feb. 27 with a school-wide assembly.

Following the donations, students will participate in a dance-a-thon funded by a grant from the Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition. While the 40-minute dance-a-thon sessions are a means of celebrating the food drive, it also helps encourage healthy physical activity, Physical Education teacher Jon Woodcock said. 

“It shows kids physical activity doesn’t have to be [an organized] sport and it can be fun,” Woodcock said. “And we’re celebrating the wrap-up of the food drive.”