Although many Benjamin students may take for granted that they have a roof over their heads and plenty of food on their tables, the faculty and administration wanted them to be aware that many families in Palm Beach County do not. So, as Thanksgiving approached this year, the School made sure that it reached out to those in need this holiday season through its annual food drive.

According to feedingamerica.org, an organization whose “mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks, 41 million people face hunger in the U.S. today – including nearly 13 million children and more than five million seniors.” The site also states that in Florida, 30% of the people struggling with hunger are children. According to Feeding South Florida, an organization who helps provide meals for those in need in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties, there is an estimated 138.9 million meals shortfall per year in South Florida.

These statistics underscore how important The Benjamin School Food Drive is. The drive ran on the Lower/Middle School Campus from November 1-15. For the Middle School, the drive was sponsored by the advisories of math teacher and physical education instructor Ms. Erica Lazarus and sixth-grade history teacher Mrs. Pamela Quigley.  “We have been informed that a large number of families in the Belle Glade area were affected from Irma,” said Lazarus. “The local shelters in the area are very low on their food supplies, so we donated our food to them this year.”

In conjunction with the Lower School, the Middle School collected more than two tons of food this year. “The food drive was extremely successful and we collected many boxes of food,” said Lazarus. “I am proud of the efforts of the students who participated by collecting the food at drop off every morning and also packaged all of the food each day in boxes. It is so great that the students can experience the joy of giving to those in need.”

The students also understand how necessary donating food to those in need is, especially during the holiday season.

“I think [the food drive] is a great thing for the Benjamin School community to do,” said eighth grader Emeline Smith. “It is a great time to give back since it is [so] close to Christmas.”

“I think [the food drive] for the community is a thing schools should do more often,” said seventh grader Gabriel DiFilippo. “I have donated some canned food and hopefully that helps the people that really need it.”

Not everyone in Florida is as fortunate as The Benjamin School community. Some people do not even have enough money to put food on their tables to feed their families. Because of this, everyone was encouraged to donate at least one item to help those in need have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Some teachers even rewarded students for bringing in non-perishable food. “I told my sixth-grade advisees that if they brought in at least two items each, then we would take a field trip to Bahama Buck’s for some shaved ice,” said Technology Integration Coordinator Mr. Nicholas Crisafi. Sure enough, he and all eight of his advisees brought in food and took a Benjamin Bus to Bahama Buck’s during long advisory on the last Wednesday in November.

During morning assembly on Monday, November 20, Student Services Director Mrs. Susan Poncy thanked the middle school students for their generous donations and let the students know how grateful the food banks and pantries were for Benjamin’s help.  

“I am very impressed with our Middle School being this generous towards to people in need,” said Poncy. “I think the people receiving the food will be very happy and thankful for everything we did for them.”