The second grade students at Williams Magnet Elementary set a goal to bring 100 food items per class to mark the 100th day of school for the 2009-2010 school year. There are three second grade classes, so the total goal was 300 food items. After collecting for a week, the students gathered to present the items to Mr. Walter Tucker, Arkansas Foodbank Coordinator, and Mr. Phillip Achor, Arkansas Foodbank Operations.
Mr. Tucker informed the students about the Arkansas Foodbank. “Our job is to provide for the hungry people in Arkansas," he said, "and to make sure no one goes hungry.” He went on to tell them that the Foodbank feeds about 23,000 people in a week. Mr. Achor explained to the students how the food is received and delivered. He told them that last year the Foodbank delivered 14 million pounds of food, and 400 agencies received food from the Foodbank to distribute to the hungry.
After the informative presentation by the representatives of the Arkansas Foodbank, the food items were counted and weighed. The combined total for the three classes was 498 food items, weighing a total of 484 pounds. It will provide a total of 372 meals.
Williams Magnet's second-grade teachers (Mrs. Lori Hoyt, Mrs. Amy Hughen and Mrs. Connie Simpson) said that the food drive was a huge success. During the drive, they used the food items as a learning opportunity. As the items were brought in, the children would weigh them and chart the various shapes. “We wanted them to learn in a practical way,” Mrs. Simpson said. "Of course, the most important lesson that they learned was to have compassion for others."
They have set a goal to reach over 500 food items in next year’s second grade food drive.