Grade 2 class nets 2,000 boxes of KD for local food bank
Riley Bailey-Marchegiano takes a box of juice from volunteer truck driver Len Broersma at the Hope Food Bank on June 10. Bailey-Marchegiano and his Grade 2 class visited the food bank after a video they sent to Kraft Canada convinced the big business to donate 2,000 boxes of KD.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
A small class of Grade 2 students at Queen Elizabeth Public School made a big difference by convincing Kraft Canada to donate 2,000 boxes of mac and cheese to the Hope Food Bank.
The product of a 20-minute long video sent to the maker of the cheesy delicacy, the class was able to convince Kraft that they were helping out their school community, so maybe the big business should help as well, explains Harold Rankin, the class’ teacher. He says the project was also about something more.
“Just for the kids to realize, even though they’re kids, they can still have a positive effect on their community.”
The request, sent back in February, details the class’ efforts in helping those in their class with their school work, as well as moving their helping hands outside the classroom.
On June 10, the class visited the Hope Food Bank, run out of the Zion Christian Reformed Church, to see just how their donation would make its way into the community.
“We wanted to come and see the results of our letter to Kraft Canada,” Rankin says. “It’s a chance for us to see how food banks operate and how many people are actually involved in food banks to get food out to people in the community who need it.”
The Hope Food Bank, a partnership between Zion and the Hope Fellowship Church in Courtice, provides produce, bread and other products to between 130 and 150 mouths on a weekly basis.
“We’re just so thankful for the kids, that they would consider our food bank. They are really helping the community here,” said Marja Slofstra, the food bank’s coordinator.
The food bank receives donations from Metro, Sobeys and Costco stores, along with the support of other community organizations. Slofstra said the 2,000 boxes of KD will go a long way in food packages for the users of the food bank.
This is also not the first time Rankin and students at Queen Elizabeth have garnered donations from big business. In 2011, Rankin and his class received a $500 donation from Loblaws, which was donated to the Salvation Army Food bank.
Rankin hopes the experience will have a lasting effect on the kids later in life.
“As they grow up, they realize the community is giving things to them and it’s always great to try and give back to the community as well,” he says.