Palos West Elementary Students Collect Over 4,500 Donations for Local Food Pantry

Each year during Superbowl week, students at Palos School District 118’s West Elementary School host a non-perishable food drive to benefit a local food pantry.

As part of the school’s annual “Souper Bowl of Caring,” students in each grade level compete to see who can collect the most donations. This year, Palos West’s fourth grade classes were the top donation champions winning a spring tailgate party by collecting 1,396 non-perishable food items.

In total, Palos West students collected 4,503 donations for the Palos Township Food Pantry program.

Palos West fourth grade teacher and student council sponsor Toni Hotzfield said that the annual event is a favorite of the student council as it gives them a chance to get involved in overseeing a school-wide outreach event. She said students collect the donations, conduct a daily count, and even help load the donation truck.

“It is great to come together to help those in need and we could not do this without our amazing families,” said Hotzfield who has overseen the event for over 10 years.

Palos West Principal Jennifer Peloquin said that the community outreach event has been held the week of the Superbowl for over 20 years which she said motivates them to help their community.

“They learn that helping others is something we should all do throughout our lifetime,” said Peloquin.