Mills Haven students donate to food bank in unique way

Mills Haven Elementary students found a creative way to collect items for the Strathcona Food Bank. They went out within their community to collect food items and relying on the generosity of their neighbours.

“I think the food drive was a great opportunity for us to help the community,” said grade 6 student Cielo. “It’s important to show people respect, and treat them the way you want to be treated.”

Student volunteers stopped by 250 homes where they left a paper bag and a note on every doorstep. The note explained that they were doing a food drive and asked residents to consider filling the bags with non-perishable food items.

The community of Mills Haven came through, with more than 100 full bags waiting for students when collection day came.

“The students were so excited to see their bags come back,” said grade 6 teacher Sarah Choo. “Many of the bags were even splitting under the weight of all the donations. As part of a school-wide Indigenous education initiative, we’ve been learning about the sacred teachings values of respect, courage and humility, and how they coincide with the act of giving. It was great for the students to be able to see those values in action.”

The school collected enough donations to fill roughly 50 milk crates, which arrived to the food bank just in time for Christmas.