School District 308 Sets New Record for Largest Single Donation to Kendall County Food Pantry

Oswego, Ill. (Oct. 16, 2015) —School District 308 has elevated its efforts to fight local hunger in the community.

Over the course of the last two weeks, the district collected over 85,000 items, easily shattering last year’s record donation to the Kendall County Food Pantry of 58,000 items. The results were announced at halftime of the Crosstown varsity football game on Friday, October 2.

“As the local school district, part of our responsibility is to give back to the community we serve,” said Dr. John Sparlin, Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services. “We are extremely proud of the efforts made by the students, parents and employees in our district. This was a team effort, and I am thrilled that we could provide for such a worthy cause in a big way.”

Of the district’s 22 schools, Hunt Club Elementary led the donations with more than 12,000 items. Principal Ryan Anderson accepted a trophy on Hunt Club’s behalf during the halftime ceremony. Murphy Junior High and Oswego High School also received awards in their individual school categories for collecting 2,086 and 3,380 items, respectively.

Last year the district made the decision to combine the efforts of the various schools into one district-wide food drive to help the Kendall County Food Pantry. The timing was selected to give the pantry a boost going into the holiday season, when demand is high.

The decision to consolidate the individual school drives into one resulted in the largest back-to-back donations ever provided to the food pantry.

Another reason for the event’s success is that it is used as an opportunity to teach students about hunger and poverty.

Kendall County Food Pantry Assistant Director Mary Ann Griffith said the pantry was grateful for such a large amount of donated food. She estimated that the food might feed around 50,000 people.

“I feel like we are in a really blessed state to have that many people come together and do their best to feed the homeless and feed the starving,” she said.

For a complete slideshow of the event, visit the district’s web story.